Cross Pollination and Digitalization of Public Sector Data: Opportunities and Challenges

This report aims to aid governments in Latin America and the Caribbean in embracing the opportunities public sector data utilization and artificial intelligence (AI) deployment can provide in achieving a circular economy model and the UNs Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). For such purpose, the report provides a novel concept of sharing data between key players that we have named data cross-pollination. Drawing on this concept, it considers four SDGs, i.e., energy, sustainable food systems, reducing pollution, and smart cities. Building on case studies and initiatives, the report highlights the main challenges and opportunities of utilizing data to achieve a circular economy model and sustainable development. It also looks into the potential of AI to enrich such data cross-pollination and focuses on potential applications of AI in circular innovation that can be transposed in the public sector.