Lewis Dijkstra works at the European Commission where he is the Head of the Economic Analysis Sector in the Directorate-General responsible for EU policy on regions and cities. His work covers areas such as measuring transport performance, the geography of EU discontent, quality of government, gender equality and competitiveness at regional and urban levels. He is the editor of the cohesion reports monitoring progress on economic, social and territorial cohesion across EU regions. Lewis has also been the driving force behind the creation of a global definition of cities for making comparisons across countries compatible. Lewis lives in Anderlecht, in Belgium and loves going on long bicycle rides. In this article, we took a moment to find out a bit more about his work on composite indicators.

What is the first thing that comes to your mind when someone says ‘data’?

Joy

Tell us a bit about yourself and how did you start your journey with data?

When I started working at the European Commission in 2001, I was asked to help set up a database on European cities. I found this work fascinating. Later I became the editor of the cohesion report and then the head of the economic analysis sector. In these roles, I have always pushed to get more regional and urban data from official sources, remote sensing, big data, open source etc. The progress can be seen in the cohesion report, the first one contained 14 maps. The most recent one, included 124 maps. But data is not only about the quantity, it is also about the quality. Geospatial data, such as a population grid or the location of schools or hospitals, allows us to produce more relevant data.

What role the specific indices that you worked on have had in informing EU policies? Can you give us a concrete example?

Two examples come to mind. The Regional Competitiveness Index, which we first published ten years ago, helps EU regions to identify their strengths and weaknesses. Many regions use this index to shape their regional development strategy and their cohesion policy programmes. The European Quality of Government Index has put good governance on the map. In the early 2000s, good governance was barely mentioned when it comes to regional development in the EU. Now cohesion policy invests far more in improving administrative capacity and there is broad consensus that improving institutions is critical for to promote regional development, innovation, and entrepreneurship.   

How in your view can we further promote evidence-based policymaking? 

Evidence-based policymaking depends on presenting the right information at the right time. This means preparing the ground by collecting data that you will need in the future. Once you have the data, they need to be analysed thoroughly and the most important message need to be identified. Finally, these key messages need to be communicated to different groups, not just EU policy makers, but also national and regional politicians, journalists, researchers and the general public. It is only by addressing different audiences that evidence can have its full impact. We produce reports, summaries, data stories, working papers and academic articles to reach out to a variety of interested parties.

What is your one-piece advice for other index developers?

Make it sexy. A good index can really capture people’s attention, but it has to be presented in a visually striking manner. Investing in an attractive, interactive data visualization is tantamount. The underlying concept needs to be intuitive. An index is a complex thing and that can turn people away. As a result, it is usually better to start by presenting the aggregate level. Then if people are interested, make it easy for them to see the dimensions and to access to the individual indicators. Finding a good hook can also really help spark interest. Lift out an aspect that is non-trivial, maybe even counter intuitive, but that makes people want to read on.

What is your favourite city?

I love New York. My wife and I have lived there for two amazing years. The music, the food, the people and the energy of that city are addictive. The only drawback is that you have to win the lottery if you don’t want to live in shoebox.