Creating effective data visualizations to support family planning decision-making

This was a hands-on skill-building session during the Making Self-Injection Count workshop in which participants worked with a sample data set in order to create data visualizations using Microsoft Excel. Two versions of the session were offered—a beginner session for participants with limited experience using Excel and data visualizations, and an advanced session for those with more experience. Participants needed a computer with Excel; the dataset and other materials were provided.

Objectives

By the end of the session, participants were able to:

• Identify key considerations for developing data visualization products.
• Build a dynamic and interactive decision-making tools in Excel through a hands-on exercise.
• Tailor data visualization products to meet the needs of different audiences.

Key takeaways

• Family planning data must be distilled and easy to understand to enable stakeholders to make decisions.
• When developing data visualizations, ask the following:
  • Who is your audience?
  • What do they want to know?
  • How will you communicate it?
• Stakeholders differ in their data needs and visual literacy, and the approach you use should align with the audience’s information needs.

Presenters

• Nicole Danfakha, Senior Data Viz Program Officer, JSI
• Dome Okoku, MLE Advisor, InSupply Health