Bringing about the data revolution in development: What data skills do aspiring development professionals need?

The post‐2015 agenda calls for a ‘data revolution in development’ and recognises that statistical capacity amongst the workforce is a prerequisite for achieving it. Universities have a critical role to play in building this capacity. This paper reports insights from in‐depth interviews with development professionals in Malta, Spain, Turkey and the United Kingdom about current and future data skills needs. It presents recommendations on data skills training for aspiring development professionals informed by this evidence, with a particular focus on curriculum in social science related undergraduate programmes at universities.