Viz for Social Good: Understanding the Challenges of Four Groups of Palestinians in Gaza and West Bank

Today we’re excited to share some of the details behind our fourth Viz for Social Good contribution: an infographic/dashboard to help UNSCO in their political and diplomatic efforts related to the Middle East Peace Process.  

You can view our other Viz for Social Good work here:  

African Youth Mentorship Network 

Tomorrow Today 

Pollicy 

And if you haven’t already, consider signing up and vizzing for a good cause! Check out Viz for Social Good’s site and sign up to volunteer.  

Our Viz

Viz for Social Good: UNSCO 

The Project 

This Viz for Social Good project is for UNSCO, the office of the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process.  Their key initiatives and goal is to “lead all political and diplomatic efforts” related to peace in the Middle East and also work to coordinate humanitarian and development work in the occupied Palestinian territory. 

The challenges facing four key groups of Palestinians will be highlighted in a visualization featured on the UN Development Group’s silofighters blog, possibly helping to direct the efforts of development practitioners. 

Follow these links to learn more about UNSCO and UNDG Silofighters. 

Data Discovery and Whiteboarding 

The dataset that we were provided consisted of survey data collected by the Sharek Youth Forum. The survey was administered to four key groups within the Palestinian community; adolescent girls, the elderly, the disabled, and children in labor.  

As we reviewed the survey data we wanted to identify points of interest for each of the individual groups. The survey data contains different questions and responses for each of the four groups. Gathering insights would have to happen individually and not across all groups. There were some important themes we wanted to address in our attempt to understand the larger picture. 

• Education: Dropout rates, completion of higher education 
• Abuse: Any groups at more risk than others? 
• Healthcare: Which groups have access and which groups were in need? 

Here’s a quick description of a few of the conversations we had when brainstorming ideas for our viz.  

• Alteryx for one flat file: One of our team members created an Alteryx workflow to combine the four separate Excel sheets into one flat file for Tableau.  
• Color scheme: Initially we wanted to highlight the four individual groups using color. A challenge was in identifying a color scheme that used elements from the blog UNDG Silofighters without taking attention from the insights that were highlighted. 
• Context is key: We wanted to provide context without drawing away from primary visuals. The left aligned map and intro allowed us to optimize space and provide enough context that would guide viewers and enrich our information. 

Three Takeaways 

Visualizing Survey Data 

Without in-depth familiarity with the survey data, we were limited in our ability to understand the specific insights hoping to be drawn from the individual groups. To maintain data integrity, it was important we drew insights relative to the number of respondents and not the entire Palestinian population. This was a key component of our efforts to provide context. 

The Palestinian/Israel Conflict 

This topic is one of the world’s most controversial political and humanitarian issues. There are people on both sides of this issue that are equally convinced of their own narrative. However, we all were in unison in terms of wanting to help those in need and those at a disadvantage. It was clear as we all read further into the history of this conflict (and without any disagreement) there continues to be significant challenges facing a large population of Palestinians living in both West Bank and Gaza.  

Waffles and Donuts 

We wanted a way to effectively display survey data (a binary yes or no). As we were agreeing on one unifying way to display the data we realized waffle charts would be a great option to creatively display percentages.  

Thanks for reading! Now go out and join the next Viz for Social Good project 😊  

We'd love to hear your thoughts—reach out to us on Twitter @DecisiveData and keep an eye out for more socially-themed vizzes!