Stories of impact

In 2021, two organizations found each other in their shared desire to contribute to a better world. ORTEC wanted to make a positive contribution to society to celebrate its 40th anniversary, while University of Amsterdam sought to flesh out Analytics for a Better World. Out of their combined knowledge and experience sprang an autonomous institute called Analytics for a Better World (ABW), founded by Amsterdam University, ORTEC and Dimitris Bertsimas of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Robert Monné, Director of ABW: “University of Amsterdam and ORTEC both made the commitment to grant the institute a serious startup budget for the next three years to help run the organization and launch projects. We’re a non-profit, so any profit we do manage to make is invested right back into the institute to help further our mission.”

Dick den Hertog, professor of Operations Research, Marc Salomon, dean of the Amsterdam Business School - part of the University of Amsterdam - and Michael van Duijn CEO and managing director at ORTEC, are convinced: the new institute Analytics for a Better World (ABW) will enable humanitarian aid organizations to help even more people by scaling up the use of analytics.

Providing aid and relief after a humanitarian disaster is a well-established practice and the Red Cross is one of the biggest organizations of its kind. But what if you could provide aid before disaster strikes? You could prevent a lot of unnecessary suffering and save a significant sum of money in the process. That's what 510, founded by Maarten van der Veen and named after the 510 million square kilometers that make up the earth's surface, does for the Red Cross, by using data science to provide insight to victims, responders and governments. By doing so, 510 does not only contribute to preparing for emergencies, but also to better decisions. "We help the Red Cross with data," Van der Veen explains. “Their volunteers do the work."

Stevan Rudinac and Maarten Sukel are trying to harness new technologies to make Amsterdam a better city for everyone - and their ideas are garnering support. "The world is becoming increasingly complex, cities are getting more crowded, but fortunately our arsenal of tools to analyse cities is expanding. We have to leverage our capabilities to keep cities liveable.”

Hein Fleuren is not only professor of Business Analytics at Tilburg University, but also the scientific director of the university’s Zero Hunger Lab, an initiative that strives to harness data science to contribute to global food security. Zero Hunger Lab was founded in order to optimize emergency response at the World Food Program, but now applies data science to combat hunger in the broadest sense possible. With unmitigated success. “My dream would be to have more of these labs for issues such as water, energy and deforestation. With Zero Hunger Lab, we have shown that our field can make a valuable contribution."

Senior economist at the World Bank Kai Kaiser and Parvathy Krishnan, data science consultant at the same institution, know very well how difficult it can be to apply data analytics in developing countries. At the same time, that’s where data science can really add value. Especially given the World Bank’s mission to reduce poverty and promote shared prosperity. Especially given the World Bank’s mission to reduce poverty and promote shared prosperity. “In terms of analytics, that means you want to find ways to harness some of the incredible technical capabilities that have emerged to solve those issues”, says Kaiser. “Asking the right questions, bringing in new developments and some academic knowledge, and connecting it to the people and the processes where it will make a difference.”

Abstract

"Maximise access to healthcare centres"