Lumec works together with Open Data Durban on data science and analytics projects for informed decision making. The desired outcome of these projects is to improve the lives of citizens through more evidence-based interventions.
Data tools developed to date include:
Data tools are designed to respond best to the needs of users, and as such, determining target user groups and their needs is the first step to developing any data tool. Lumec understands that research is only as useful as those who access and engage with it. Data tools increase the likelihood that these target users will find and usefully engage with the information they require. It is for this reason that Lumec promotes the development of data tools, in combination with, or instead of, lengthy research reports which notoriously are not user-friendly.
Data tools enable data to be automatically collected and updated. Traditionally, research is conducted at a single point in time and is often outdated the moment it is gathered. Furthermore, data tools empower data holders to maintain and access the data rather than having to employ external consultants to collect the same data repeatedly. All users within an organisation, or even a city, can be assured that there is one accurate information source and further research and analysis can be crowdsourced to continuously improve the accuracy and depth of the data.