Member Briefing: Data Justice and Philanthropy

Data Justice is the collection, analysis, sharing, and use of data entirely in service of and with accountability to participants and their communities. Data Justice is a lens to evaluate the intended or unintended consequences of researching or collecting data on individuals and communities. It values the dignity, privacy, and humanity of all people.

Data Justice includes:

• Collecting no more than the minimum amount of participant data required to provide services
• Handling participant data securely and maintaining participants’ data privacy
• The analysis and sharing of that data with intentionality, using an asset-based framework, and situated within the appropriate social contexts
• The use of that data to support participants directly, respond to changing needs discovered through evaluation, and proactively address systemic challenges uncovered
• Accountability to the people being served and their communities

The Metropolitan Alliance of Connected Communities (MACC) is a member based collaborative of nonprofits located in the Twin Cities metro. In 2021, the MACC Data Network began exploring Data Justice as it relates to their work in their communities. This included a 2022 briefing with MCF members about what they had learned so far.

They've come a long way in the years since, with MACC now embedding Data Justice into their strategic plan, and publishing standards and practices on their website. This fall, they'll focus on Data Justice as it relates to philanthropy.

Join us at this briefing to hear from the MACC Data Network on what Data Justice means to them, how they've used it to better their organizations and communities, and what it can mean for the philanthropic sector.

Speaker:

Alicia Ranney, Vice President of Data and Evaluation, Metropolitan Alliance of Connected Communities