Data responsibility in humanitarian action: statistical disclosure control

Publication language
English
Date published
06 Aug 2019
Type
Tools, guidelines and methodologies
Keywords
Technological, Protection, human rights & security
Organisations
United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), REACH

Key takeaways:

• Statistical disclosure control (SDC) is a technique used to assess and lower the risk of a person or organisation being re-identified from the analysis of microdata.

• In the humanitarian sector, microdata is data on the characteristics of a population that is gathered through exercises such as household surveys, needs assessment or monitoring activities.

• The purpose of applying disclosure control to humanitarian microdata is to be able to share the data more widely in a responsible manner without harming affected people.

• An SDC process can lower the risk of re-identification to an acceptable level but the risk threshold may vary depending on the context where the humanitarian response is happening.

• To start using SDC, organisations should invest in (1) finding the right tool, (2) setting up a workflow, and (3) improving practice over time through continuous learning.