Big data analytics in programme evaluation: Examining models for the assessment of sustainable development goals in Colombia

In: Cuadernos de economía: publicación del Departamento de Teoría y Política Económica, Facultad de Ciencias Económicas, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Volume 42, Issue 89, p. 233-264

Open Access

Abstract

New paradigms for evidence-based decisions such as big data analytics (BDA) have emerged to assess programmes in sustainable development goals (SDGs). The arguments supporting the contributions of BDA in the assessment of SDGs in Colombia are mixed. This article presents a qualitative review of a list of programmes that adopted BDA and assesses whether problems such as bias and wrong impressions of programme performance can be controlled with the adoption of these methods. The results vary depending on the quality of the data and the collection method. Unfortunately, Colombia faces challenges such as data privacy management and deficiency of institutional interoperability to exploit these techniques conveniently.