The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)’s National Institute for Medical Statistics (ICMR - NIMS), in partnership with Population Council, has launched the National Data Quality Forum (NDQF).

The launch was attended by representatives from the government, academic institutions, technology and developmental partners who work towards strengthening the data ecosystem in the country. 

NDQF will integrate learnings from scientific and evidence-based initiatives and guide actions through periodic workshops and conferences. Its activities will gear towards establishing protocols and good practices when dealing with data collection, storage, use and dissemination that can be applied to health and demographic data, as well as replicated across industries and sectors.

“We are delighted to launch the National Data Quality Forum and embark upon a fruitful collaboration to generate meaningful dialogue around the improvement of data quality in general, and for health and medical research in particular,” said Prof. (Dr.) Balram Bhargava, Director General of the Indian Council of Medical Research.

With a renewed emphasis on improving the quality of data that feeds into evidence based decision making at different levels, the NDQF hopes to bring together relevant stakeholders, subject matter experts, industry leaders, decision makers, and data scientists / analysts onto a common platform. This platform will be guided by the direction provided by a high level steering committee and operationalized with the help of a technical advisory group composed of subject matter experts. With a mandate to create a dialogue for data quality, and build a like-minded community of practice