Although data is considered the new oil, across the Caribbean region, it is becoming increasingly evident that we do not fully appreciate the value of data, as it is not comprehensively reflected in the policies and structures established in Caribbean countries. As a result, we are grappling with several issues, including data protection, privacy, data sovereignty, data ethics and management, to name just a few. With Dr Alexis Santos, a Demographer and Associate Professor at Penn State University in the United States, we discuss the state of data and statistics in the Caribbean, along with the role data should be playing in our lives and societies; what makes data authoritative, trustworthy and appropriate for us to rely on; and why Caribbean countries need to become more self-sufficient in collecting and controlling their data.

 

This episode is also available on SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music!!

Data. In the Caribbean, we complain about the lack of data, though in many instances, the datasets are being collected but are not readily accessible. At the same time, we have been having many conversations about privacy, data protection, and more recently, data sovereignty, and to varying degrees, policies and structures are being put in place to address these issues. However, a topic that we have not yet broached comprehensively is the value and importance of data in our societies, and the reflection of that posture in the frameworks we establish.

During our May 2025 Community Chat, one of the topics we discussed was ensuring the availability of essential and trustworthy datasets upon which organisations and countries rely to make crucial and long-term decisions. However, that 20-minute session was not enough to fully explore the issue, so we have now dedicated a full episode, though additional episodes may be required to continue to ventilate this subject.

 

Introducing our guest

Alexis R. Santos

Alexis R. Santos is a Puerto Rican population health scientist and demographer with formal training as an economist. He completed his Economics training at the University of Puerto Rico at Cayey (B.A.) and the University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras (M.A.). He completed his Ph.D. in Demography at the University of Texas at San Antonio. Since 2015, Alexis has been a faculty member at the Pennsylvania State University. His main line of work focuses on using data from administrative sources and national surveys to address social inequalities in health.

Alexis’s Caribbean-focused work has dealt with estimating deaths attributable to natural disasters and understanding demographic transitions. He is interested in demographic ageing, that is, how and why countries have an older age structure. His work has been published in journals such as the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), and The Gerontologist. When he is not at work, Alexis likes to read about history or biographies, watch movies, learn new statistical methods, listen to music, and have coffee with friends. 

 

Insights into our conversations

This conversation ought to highlight that there are several more dimensions to the discussions we should be having about data generally, and data in the Caribbean. Our data policies and structures ought to go beyond those required for privacy and data protection to encompass, as Alexis suggested, our “philosophy of data”. Hence, some of the questions we must be able to answer are: where do we stand regarding data generally? What role does data play in our society? To what degree do we value data? And what are the corresponding structures we must put in place to reflect the role data plays in our society?

All too often, our countries are relying on international organisations to administer surveys and collect data, but in doing so, we may not have much control over, or indefinite access to, such critical datasets. Should we lose access, we are likely to find ourselves unable to comprehensively plan for the future and unable to tell our own stories.

Below are key questions that drove our conversation with Alexis.

  1. From your perspective, please share some opening thoughts on the state of data and statistics in the Caribbean.
  2. A growing concern is the control others, such as policymakers and political directorates, have over data: its accessibility and its integrity. How can we navigate this?
  3. What makes data authoritative, trustworthy and appropriate for us to rely on?
  4. Are there any emerging demographic or statistical trends that are particularly noteworthy or require closer monitoring?
  5. What opportunities do you see for improving data infrastructure and capacity in the Caribbean, and how can remote researchers contribute to these efforts?

 

We would love to hear your thoughts!

Do leave us a comment either here beneath this article, or on our Facebook or LinkedIn pages, or via Twitter, @ICTPulse.

Also, if you or a member of your network is interested in joining us for an episode, do get in touch.

Let’s make it happen!

 

Select links

Below are links to some of the organisations and resources that were mentioned during the episode, or otherwise might be useful

 

 

Images credit:  A Santos;  PublicDomainPictures (Pixabay);  rawpixel.com (Freepik);  Ugochukwu Ebu (Pixabay)

Music credit: The Last Word (Oui Ma Chérie), by Andy Narrell

Podcast editing support: Mayra Bonilla Lopez