During our recent conversation with practitioners and funders to launch the 2023 Data for Social Impact report – Accelerate Aspirations: Moving to Achieve Systems Change, we asked questions of the audience. One question reminded us that we have a lot of work to do to explain, empower, and build the workforce we need for data for social impact. 

Featuring Bayo (Olubayo) Adekanmbi, CEO of Data Scientists Network

What is the definition of a purpose-driven data practitioner? 

A data practitioner is skilled at supporting the data life cycle: collecting, transforming, analyzing, communicating, and productizing data to guide decision-making. 

A purpose-driven data practitioner has all this hands-on domain expertise, plus approaches their work with a social impact mindset. They know the on-the-ground realities, have empathy, and have respect for ethics, data responsibility, and fairness. They understand how data is produced intentionally to solve social issues by addressing infrastructure gaps. They are asking and providing an intentional uplift for quality of life.  

To learn more about our efforts, download and share the Accelerate report and join our efforts to train one million purpose-driven data practitioners in the next 10 years. 

#AccelerateImpact #DataDrivesImpact

2023 Data for Social Impact Report

Accelerate Aspirations: Moving Together to Achieve Systems Change

A comprehensive report on the key trends and tensions in the emerging field of data for social impact.

Download the report

The post Accelerate Aspirations: What is a Data Practitioner? appeared first on data.org.

Building a more diverse and interdisciplinary workforce is necessary to tackle our most urgent challenges. Purpose-driven data practitioners are key to making data — and funding — go further for good. 

According to Aparna Krishnan, Project Director for J-PAL South Asia, to do this we must combine globally informed approaches with locally grounded input and expertise to drive change. She shared her perspective during a recent data.org conversation with practitioners and funders to launch Accelerate Aspirations: Moving to Achieve Systems Change.

This doesn’t mean flying in solutions from New York or San Francisco. 

Featuring Aparna Krishnan, Project Director for J-PAL South Asia

“It means putting local people in the driver’s seat,” said Perry Hewitt, chief marketing and product officer for data.org.

It is increasingly important to create interconnectedness, adds Krishnan, by combining the knowledge, methods, and data from different contexts, regions, and sectors and then developing solutions that are locally relevant. 

“data.org’s Capacity Accelerator Network aims to do exactly this,” said Krishnan.  

This program creates locally-led knowledge hubs that share a common vision, resources, and knowledge with other hubs, yet set their own priorities, partners, and projects — ensuring community ownership and developing approaches suitable for local contexts.

By combining lived experience with globally informed methodologies, sustainable change happens — especially when attention is given to building trust through communications. Disseminating information to people, who often rely on village networks or religious leaders, is where trusted, local experts are necessary. Best practices need a network of ambassadors to be shared meaningfully, and in context.  

“Nothing can move forward without trust,” said Krishnan.

We couldn’t agree more and dedicated part of the Accelerate report to hit this point home. Trust is the cornerstone to creating meaningful change. “The process of building trust is just as important as the final data-driven outcome,” stated the report.

Building trust and sharing power with local practitioners and leaders and creating solutions informed by local understanding and context ensures that data access barriers are dismantled — for good.  Learn more about our efforts by downloading and sharing the Accelerate report and join our efforts to train one million purpose-driven data practitioners in the next 10 years.

#AccelerateImpact #DataDrivesImpact

2023 Data for Social Impact Report

Accelerate Aspirations: Moving Together to Achieve Systems Change

A comprehensive report on the key trends and tensions in the emerging field of data for social impact.

Download the report

The post Accelerate Aspirations: Trust Is the Cornerstone appeared first on data.org.

It’s time to get comfortable with messy if we want to improve collaboration between the private and social sector to achieve results for data for good.  

Embracing messy was one of the many moments that stood out during a recent webinar hosted by our DataDotOrg team to launch our 2023 Data for Social Impact report – Accelerate Aspirations: Moving to Achieve Systems Change.  

In the 1990s there was so much promise that data was going to save everything. But come to find out it requires messy human things like governance and trust and a little bit of grace to understand other perspectives. We need human systems alongside data systems and tech stacks — and human systems are complicated. Investing in messy also isn’t cheap because of the complexity it will take to build the tools and develop the skills needed to move the sector.  

Featuring Kriss Deiglmeier, Chief Global Impact Officer at Splunk

As outlined in the Accelerate report, actors across the field realize that funding smaller one-off projects isn’t moving the needle. The work being done at an activity and project level doesn’t create a coherent set of building blocks to constitute a strong and healthy field that can solve system-level problems like climate and economic insecurity.  

Building scale should also come with the understanding that nonprofit, corporate and government sectors all have different structures and norms. Let’s acknowledge these differences and recognize progress is still possible. 

“We need the grace to meet in the middle. This is no time to dig in your heels,” said Kriss Deiglmeier, Chief Global Impact Officer at Splunk, a leading security and observability platform that helps organizations use data at any scale. “Let’s move on from seeking perfection and focus on making progress.” 

In other words, let’s roll up our sleeves, get messy, and move with urgency. Please read through the Accelerate report, share the findings — and let’s encourage each other to be messy and to pursue progress over perfection. 

#AccelerateImpact #DataDrivesImpact

2023 Data for Social Impact Report

Accelerate Aspirations: Moving Together to Achieve Systems Change

A comprehensive report on the key trends and tensions in the emerging field of data for social impact.

Download the report

The post Accelerate Aspirations: It’s Messy appeared first on data.org.

Kriss Deiglmeier, Chief Global Impact Officer at Splunk, urged us to embrace this assertion during a recent data.org conversation with practitioners and funders to launch the 2023 Data for Social Impact report – Accelerate Aspirations: Moving to Achieve Systems Change. 

From her point of view, we need to move from funding one-off projects and instead focus on creating a data-driven ecosystem for social impact on the systems side.  

We couldn’t agree more. It’s the entire premise of the Accelerate report. To change the narrative and act like data is power we need to think more expansively than traditional funding and partnership structures between the private and social sectors currently allow. It’s time to look toward innovative, diverse, collaborative partnerships to meet the demand for data for social impact. 

“Why aren’t we advocating for investing in the power of data for societal benefit,” she continued. “If we continue to think about data and talent as overhead, we are sunk for the 21st century. We are at a moment of urgency.” 

Featuring Kriss Deiglmeier, Chief Global Impact Officer at Splunk

A timely example of what is at stake is the trajectory of OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT. According to accounts, OpenAI started as a nonprofit in 2015 and tried through government and philanthropy to secure funding to scale. This approach was unsuccessful and in 2019, shifted to for-profit.   

“What a loss for a social impact because we couldn’t see the big picture and build that [data for good] ecosystem,” Deiglmeier said. “Could you imagine if it was a non-profit sitting in a position of power for social impact?”  

At data.org, we can imagine it and we think it is possible. Consider joining us in spreading the word about what is possible. Reach out to us to collaborate and share ideas.  

The best path forward includes convincing funders of the need for long-term, sustained investment to scale systems-wide data projects along with foundational investments in infrastructure, capacity, and talent. Adopting this approach will give the next big idea such as OpenAI the best chance to address our shared challenges by driving change from the social sector. 

#AccelerateImpact #DataDrivesImpact

2023 Data for Social Impact Report

Accelerate Aspirations: Moving Together to Achieve Systems Change

A comprehensive report on the key trends and tensions in the emerging field of data for social impact.

Download the report

The post Accelerate Aspirations: Data Is Power appeared first on data.org.