Data and DEI (Diversity, Equality and Inclusion)

09:35 - 10:10

Wednesday 12 May

KEYNOTE: People Shaping Data

Who gets to structure, analyse and benefit from data is just another articulation of who has power, status and recognition in society. People and communities deserve to be able to shape and have a say in how information that concerns them is collected, and charities have a hugely important role in reshaping data both data use and data discourse, to make sure everyone is counted and included in a fair and representative way.

11:30 - 12:10

Wednesday 12 May

Count me in – the collection of diversity monitoring data and its use for action

The collection of data about individuals’ identity characteristics (such as gender, race, and social background) is a rapidly evolving area of work. For social change organisations, the design of diversity monitoring questions needs to align with reporting requirements, but also ensure that staff and service users can, as far as possible, describe themselves in ways that reflect how they identify. This session will encourage participants to think critically about the collection of diversity monitoring data, increase their knowledge of the topic, and boost their confidence to engage with diversity monitoring data in their own organisations.

13:35 - 14:10

Wednesday 12 May

Data ethics: beyond compliance

In this session, Sue will present a short overview of the relevant legal and policy landscape on data storage sharing and use, and some tips on where to start with good ethical foundations. They'll also be time for discussion and questions. Sue is a Research Fellow at the Open Data Institute specialising in digital ethics, with a background in property and her research explores how emerging technologies disrupt established regulatory norms.

15:20 - 16:15

Wednesday 12 May

Collecting better data about a place so that it feels more relevant to people that live there

Data collection about place is led by administrative organisations. But that often means it's collected for a named geography that people don't necessarily identify with. The data collected may not truly represent that area, and so create data-informed decisions that don’t feel relevant to people. This session will start a (structured) conversation to see if people have experiences or ideas for how data about places can be made more relevant to local people. For example, you might begin thinking about co-producing non-administrative, geographical boundaries that are meaningful for the people that live there, and considering what data sets could be best used for that place.

10:35 - 11:15

Tuesday 11 May

Reframing data - developing community custodianship for social change

This roundtable will be a forum for sharing community custodianship methods and examples. Data is mostly viewed as a resource that is collected, analysed, and acted upon by organisations and institutions. In community settings it is used to understand need, target resource, and measure success. Yet most find data intangible and exclusive, creating an environment of surveyors and those that are surveyed. Reframing our relationship with data so communities are integral to the process of data design, collection and analysis offers the chance to demystify and reveal data not only as a performative process, but one which through support can enable communities to become active participants rather than passive subjects.

15:20 - 16:15

Tuesday 11 May

Building place-based data indices: How can we support places to use data to address the challenges they face?

This session asks ‘How can we support places to use data to address the challenges they face?’ Power to Change will chair the panel to Change with three speakers. The Centre for Thriving Places will present their Thriving Places Index, a framework measuring the local conditions for wellbeing, and whether those conditions are being delivered fairly and sustainably. The Social Economy Data Lab will present their work using credit and debit card transaction data to track the impact of Covid-19 on high streets. And Onward will present their work developing the Social Fabric Index, identifying not only the places which demand the greatest attention, but also the communities whose strength offers lessons.

10:35 - 11:30

Monday 10 May

I am me: equalities data for everyone

Do you collect equalities data about your members, service users, beneficiaries, staff, or volunteers? It may be required by funders, through contracts, as part of recruitment processes, or to identify need or gaps in service provision. But how do we ensure that this isn't just a tick box exercise? How can we capture the identities of the real people we interact with? This session will challenge participants to think about why and how we collect equalities data. Through thought-provoking interactive exercises and game play, participants will consider the importance of self-identification and how to allow space for intersectional data to emerge. Delivered by facilitators working on equalities issues that truly aim at including everyone, this workshop helps 'I am me' to be captured as a reality, and avoids the sterility of tick boxes.

10:35 - 11:30

Monday 10 May

Analysing grant data to shape funder responses to crisis at London Funders

The London Community Response is a collaboration of 67 funders. By May 2021 they will have completed five waves of Covid funding, from crisis response to renewal, and distributed around £55m to community organisations in London. London Funders used the data from this to interrogate who the funding is reaching, in particular whether it supported smaller, ‘led-by’ organisations. Working alongside funders and equity partners, they developed tools to monitor and understand how well they were achieving this throughout. The data was used to shape how the London Community Response is designed and delivered. London Funders hope this will inspire change to wider funder approaches.
11:45 - 12:25

Monday 10 May

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion - A data driven journey from emh

Emh Group is a large social housing and care organisation based in the East Midlands of England with properties also in Yorkshire, the West Midlands and the South West, with 1,100 employees and circa 20,000 homes and commercial properties.  Diversity is one of their core values. In 2019 they agreed an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy to ensure equality, diversity and inclusion becomes part of the DNA of the business. One of their first steps was to understand the existing data they held on equality, diversity and inclusion, assess its quality and come up with a plan to improve it. They asked Data Orchard to help them with this work.

In this session we will share our process and learning from the data analysis project, and a year on, what happened and what’s changed at emh.  Data themes will include: merging internal datasets, exploring the external data landscape, changing culture and language (and categories) for equality and diversity characteristics, pay gap analysis and data literacy.

15:35 - 16:30

Monday 10 May

Decolonising data: principles for improving the ownership, diversity and accessibility of data

Gather will facilitate a panel discussion of experts from across the geospatial, international development, and open data discipline to discuss the challenges, failures, and pathways to success for decolonising data. This will include conversations around how to ensure equitable access, ownership, and use of data by local stakeholders and decision makers, and representative datasets that surface under-represented groups. The session will be chaired by Raheema Abdirizaq, with panelists Rudo Kemper, Dr Azzam Abuhabib and Carmen Leon-Himmelstine.