WHAT IS DATA?

“Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts.”
— William Bruce Cameron

There is data that should be counted (graduation rates, English and math proficiency scores, school absenteeism) and there is data that is almost impossible to count (literacy is a particular challenge).

Yet we find at Geneva 2030 that data can be the starting point for identifying and measuring challenges, possibilities and successes. Smart organizations rely heavily on numbers but understand the limitations. Always question the use of metrics, their origins and their accuracy.

We’re constantly searching for new sources of information. When we publish data or graphics, we provide source links, and we urge you to explore them. Please let us know if you think we’re skewing the numbers, if we’re failing to take important aspects into consideration, or if we’re overlooking reliable, relevant sources of data.