The Government of Odisha rolled out a five-year strategic partnership with the University of Chicago Trust (UCT) for using data to advance innovations and drive policy decisions, as per an official statement. It was announced in a grant agreement event for the Data, Policy, and Innovation Centre (DPIC) in Bhubaneshwar on 3rd May 2023.
Earlier in January this year, both parties had signed an MoU to establish DPIC that will support evidence-based research in areas of energy and environment, health, education, agriculture and water and sanitation and catalyse efforts to develop a high-quality data interface for enabling evidence-based governance of existing programs.
Talking about the collaboration Electronics and Information Technology Minister for Odisha, Tusharkanti Behera said, “The establishment of the DPIC is a testament to the government’s commitment to the state’s development across various sectors.”
He expressed satisfaction that scholars from around the world are conducting research in Odisha and taking their findings to the rest of the world, adding that evidence and data-driven policies would benefit the state tremendously.