United Nations Development Group (UNDG) Data Visualization Contest for Data Analysts 2017

The United Nations Development Group (UNDG) Data Visualization Contest, sponsored by Tableau, is offering the opportunity for data scientists to showcase their skills by analysing and visualizing data from the new UNDG Transparency Portal.

Application Deadline: 30th April 20017

Eligible Countries: All

To be taken at (country): Online

About the Award: The UNDG Transparency Portal displays data from UNDG members that are currently publishing to International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) standard. The objective of publishing to IATI standard is to improve the transparency and openness of aid, development, and humanitarian resources in order to increase their effectiveness in tackling poverty.

You can create a data visualization across any theme, country or region that combines UNDG data (through the UNDG Transparency Portal) to other agency datasets such as World Bank and Human Development Report data. Examples of datasets that can be used for this contest include, but are not limited to:

UNDG Transparency Portal (mandatory)
World Bank Data
UNDP Human Development Report
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Indicators Global Database

Preference will be given to visualizations that highlight new trends and insights into the sustainable development goals and indicators.

Type: Contest

Eligibility: Develop a summary of your data visualization that explains:

1. Choice of topic/theme
2. How the dataset was obtained and sources
3. Any cleaning, parsing, and analysis you performed on the dataset
4. How data visualization improves/highlights a new understanding of the topic
5. Any conclusions or inferences that can be made from the data visualization

The summary should not exceed 500 words and must be in English.

Selection Criteria: Each visualization will be judged based on the following criteria:

1. Creativity and aesthetics of visualization(s)
2. Effectiveness to transform underlying data into insight
3. Utility of the data visualization to inform decision making

Judges will include UN program experts, data scientists, and UN member state representatives.

Number of Awardees: Not specified

Value of Program: Winning entries will be given a certificate of participation from the United Nations Development Operations Cooperation Office on behalf of the United Nations Development Group. Prizes for winners include one of the following:

1. Prize: One year free subscription to Tableau Professional (worth $1,499);
2. Prize: Up to $500 cash prize towards an educational opportunity or
3. Prize: Presentation of your visualization at the Transparency Portal launch event organized at UN Headquarters

Winning entries will be advertised on various portals. These portals are listed in the Program Webpage (Link below)

How to Apply: To create a visualization using Tableau:

1. Download Tableau Desktop Profession, the product used by authors to create and publish dashboards. Tableau Desktop is available for both iOS and Windows PCs.
2. Use the special key below provided by Tableau exclusively for the UNDG contest to activate the software.
3. This key is valid till April 30th: License Key: TD3L-A0F9-95C0-607A-6DCA
4. Create an account on Tableau Public  to publish your final Dashboard submission: https://public.tableau.com/s/ 
5. Once a dashboard has been published, it is accessible via a web browser.
6. Need inspiration or want to see the art of what’s possible?  Check out the Tableau Public Gallery https://public.tableau.com/s/gallery

To create a visualization through other means, publish it at a link and follow the guidelines below to submit your work.

All participants must submit an online web-based visualization.

The link to your online visualization must be submitted here

Visit Program Webpage for details

Award Provider: United Nations Development Group (UNDG)

Important Notes: Please note that visualizations can be changed/edited before the deadline.