THE PRIVATE SECTOR TECHNOLOGY DATA FOR DECISION MAKING EIB ON THE RECORD
“The goal is to use technology to make our policies and processes more e ffi cient,” says Senior Advisor Guido Bichisao By Howard Hudson, OPEC Fund
M ultilateral development banks (MDBs) are having to do more with less, keeping one eye on the burning ground as the other swivels up to a stormy horizon. More and more money is needed for short-term humanitarian emergencies like droughts, wildfires and feeding the hungry. Yet that money is also needed for medium- and long-term development work on education, health and infrastructure – lest the world fall into a perpetual vicious circle. This need not be a zero-sum game. Project X or country X need not lose out to project Y or country Y, so long as we keep improving e ffi ciency and complementarity. Which is exactly what many MDBs are already doing – pursuing an “abundance mindset” powered by strategic innovation. All of which sounds impressive, but how does it work in practice? Here are some recent examples: • The World Bank co-launched the Climate Action Data Trust in December 2022 with the International Emissions Trading Association and the government of Singapore. The Trust uses big data and machine learning to improve climate resilience in developing countries. One year on, the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan joined the Trust, which prevents the double counting of carbon credits via a decentralized blockchain system.
• The Inter-American Development Bank set up the Guide to Digital Transformation for Governments in November 2022, with a view to supporting digital literacy and governance. “A government’s digital transformation is much more than just implementing technological tools. It hinges on a shift in corporate culture, organizational model, and methods and processes... to meet the needs of citizens and businesses in an e ffi cient, transparent, and secure way,” said Susana Cordeiro, Manager of the IDB’s Institutions for Development Sector. • The European Investment Bank (EIB) unveiled the Open Data Initiative in December 2020 to boost data-driven decision making and public understanding of its work across various sectors. The initiative provides public access to comprehensive EIB datasets
Guido Bichisao Guido Bichisao is Senior Advisor to the Director General of Portfolio Management and Monitoring at EIB and CEO of Senap Consulting. He has held numerous positions at EIB in Strategy, Treasury, Financial Engineering and Advisory and represented EIB at relevant G20 and G7 working groups. Guido previously worked at Banca di Roma and holds a Master’s in Economics from Bocconi University, Milan.
on project financing, climate investments and survey results.
But again, beyond the buzzwords, how do these initiatives work in practice – and will better use of data make a di ff erence on the ground? For a deep dive into the innovation landscape, we spoke with Guido Bichisao, Senior Advisor to the Director General of Portfolio Management and Monitoring at EIB and CEO of Senap Consulting.
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