This is a 3-part podcast concerned with data and knowledge-based decision-making. The guest is World Bank’s Arianna Legovini. Her expertise – critical to this discussion – is in improving the impact of research on development practice and policy. The hosts are UNESCO’s John Crowley and Iulia Sevciuc. PART 1:  Data and governance Data is an instrument in and of governance. As any tool, data is as good as those handling (in this case, reading) it. So how good are we? Part 1 goes into new data landscape, the new skills it demands of us, and the public sector’s capacity to steer it all. PART 2: Data and COVID-19 This second part is about data in crisis. It looks into how the pandemic changed the world of data and how it transformed the ways in which we use data for decision-making – in emergency contexts and beyond. PART 3: Pointers Part 3 looks into data as an area of knowledge and an area of policy action. It addresses research communities to point out what knowledge gaps need closing and it talks to policymakers about emerging ideas/practices on data that deserve a closer look.