primary management team

This working paper examines the development and design of the Observatorio Metropolitano de Agua para Lima-Callao (MWO): a co-produced digital observatory for water and data justice.

The metropolitan city of Lima and Callao (hereafter referred to as Lima) faces a water security challenge, which results from the combination of scarce water resources with inefficient and unequal distribution. The lack or limited water access has been a crucial factor shaping inequality patterns in the city. Amongst the challenges for improving water distribution are the difficulties around mapping water needs and the lack of adequate and comprehensive data for all citizens since a significant part of the population is excluded from formal government datasets. Those living in subservice areas, who do not have access to administrative or political structures, and migrants are examples of such exclusion from formal government sources for evidence-based policy and implementation.  The purpose of the MWO is to contribute to a fairer distribution of water resources amongst urban residents within Lima. By combining collaborative design approaches with the theory-informed data justice guidelines, we have developed a prototype of the MWO with participants from three districts in Lima. The MWO  aims to challenge the hegemonic representation of Lima’s water infrastructure and help communicate the experiences and views of residents currently overlooked. In addition, the MWO teaches us how to design digital platforms according to the principles of data justice in practice.