Big data can be used to make inferences about human mobility patterns, economic development, cultural attitudes, and more.
This report reviews the major big data research initiatives over the past few years and discusses the role of the private sector, academia, multilateral institutions, foundations, donor agencies, and NGOs in these projects.
This report specifically looks at data exhaust (e.g. cell phone records), online activity (e.g. social media), sensing technologies (e.g. satellite data), and crowdsourced information.