CIESIN Associate Director for Science Applications, Dana R Thomson, organized an interactive workshop with the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) in Kingston, Jamaica. The workshop was designed to foster a technical exchange among STATIN, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and the POPGRID Data Collaborative, with two goals: (1) Enhancing STATIN’s modeling techniques for census non-response and (2) Advancing POPGRID’s collaboration with traditional statistical agencies.
In the current round of global censuses, census agencies are facing unprecedented non-response rates owing to COVID, data skepticism, urbanization trends (e.g., more gated communities and buildings), and more. STATIN, like most census agencies worldwide, is seeking new ways to address very high non-response rates using geospatial data and AI modelling. POPGRID aims to strengthen partnerships with statistical agencies, recognizing that interdisciplinary collaboration is crucial to producing fine-scale, actionable population estimates.
The POPGRID - STATIN workshop represents an unique opportunity to compare the performance and usability of diverse modelled population data products using the same input and validation data. Modeling teams from The Joint Research Centre (JRC), Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and WorldPop are now working hand-in-hand with STATIN data experts to co-produce national population estimates for Jamaica. Their outputs will be evaluated and compared by an independent panel of experts. The results will help STATIN to finalize Jamaica’s 2022 census results, and learnings will be shared with statistical agencies around the world.
CIESIN Associate Director for Geospatial Applications, Greg Yetman, also participated in the workshop and is supporting the independent evaluation, providing expertise in population modeling.
Local press coverage of the workshop:
Jamaica Gleaner article
Jamaica Gleaner X post
