On data sourcing

These days, there have been quite a number of discussions in town on the important role of data in the development of Myanmar. I agree that Myanmar has lacked data in terms of both quantity and quality and that it has posted a huge challenge everywhere.

In light of this challenge, there are quite a lot of efforts and emphasis put in data collection - with some having the goal of "collect them all".

I believe this attitude of "collect them all" has gone the other extreme as well. Here are a few reasons why: 
1) when one collects all, s/he gets the breadth but not the depth. It's hard to draw conclusions out of shallowly curated data. 
2) One also risks having more missing data across every area. Any data isn't necessarily better than no data. 
3) Data, like any other product, isn't worth collecting without having a user in mind. It's as important to collect data as to curate them well and to encourage to use them.

In the moment of scarce resource and limited time frame, it will go better if we prioritize a few key areas, make sure we have solid quality data, and know how to use it.