Conference Overview
Data on Purpose 2019: “Navigating the Digital Now”
In both our personal and professional lives, we are living in a digital world. The days of planning for our digital future are past. Today we operate in the digital now. Whether we identify ourselves as such, we are the leaders of digital organizations operating in a digital environment.
Nonprofit organizations have moved well past the time when technology and data were treated as standalone entities. Now they are an integral and critical part of our organization’s operations, on par with fundraising, communications, and other core functions. And like those other core functions, we must examine our technology and data strategies to properly evaluate and prioritize our needs and successfully build our digital capacity. How we do this is the theme of this year’s Data on Purpose 2019: “Navigating the Digital Now.”
At our 5th annual Data on Purpose conference, Stanford Social Innovation Review will help nonprofit leaders identify the best ways to build data and technology capacity. We will weave together the latest research- and practice-based insights from data scientists and researchers, nonprofit and foundation leaders, policymakers, and other prominent experts, to help identify what is truly important, versus simply what is possible or what is urgent.
Participants in Data on Purpose 2019 will come away with:
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insight into the latest technology trends impacting the social sector, and an understanding that they don’t need to keep up with every trend in order to successfully build digital capacity;
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clarity of the changing role and practice of ethical data use, and an assurance that they don’t need to become (or hire) a data scientist to be a data-driven, digital organization;
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and confidence in their own ability to answer the technology questions that have bedeviled their organizations, and tools to bring those answers to fruition.
Additionally, we will have a special module at the conference dedicated to the 10th anniversary of Blueprint, the annual philanthropy and civil society industry forecast produced by Lucy Bernholz, director of the Digital Civil Society Lab at the Stanford Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society.
Sessions
Technical Intuition
Technology has near universal impact, and yet very few of us feel we have the knowledge and confidence necessary to direct and shape it towards specific ends. Fear not! The truth is we don’t all need to learn to code to navigate and influence our digital world. In this talk, Alix Dunn, director of Computer Says Maybe and co-founder and former director of the Engine Room, discussed the idea of ‘technical intuition’, which explores new ways of thinking about the technical capacities we need in the 21st century, and helped chart pathways towards new forms of learning.
Is Your Data Undermining Your Mission?
Is your data aligned with your mission? Data historically is collected by those in power, about those without it, to make decisions about the future. If you work in the social good sector, you can’t ignore this history. So how do you practice socially responsible data? In this interactive keynote, Rahul Bhargava, data scientist from the MIT Media Lab, introduced these questions and some activities the lab has developed over the last 10 years to help people think through these issues. Attendees walked away with concrete examples from the sector, experience with activities they can run with their organization, pointers to new approaches, and a fresh perspective on how to think about making sure their data practices align with their mission.
Data Capacity-Building in the Civic Sector
The civic sector has much to gain from leveraging data for impact. Yet, significant barriers exist for organizations operating in the civic space to take advantage of this critical resource. In this panel, moderated by Kevin Miller, civic technology manager from the Microsoft Cities Team, Kathryn Pettit, principal research associate at The Urban Institute, Kauser Razvi, principal of Strategic Urban Solutions, and Aman Ahuja, a data consultant, took a deep-dive into capacity building initiatives, in order to explore the proper roles of organizations from different sectors, the various elements of capacity building that may lead to success, and how we might consider collectively moving toward large-scale improvement.
Which Solution is the Right One? The Product Approach to Sustainable Impact
Organizations of every size and type face a plethora of possible technological “solutions” available to address every real or perceived problem. But without infinite bandwidth and unlimited funds – two things most organizations don’t possess – it’s impossible to pursue all of them. To identify and prioritize data and technology solutions, investments require thorough evaluation of their short- and long-term potential for impact against mission – not just against projected work flow enhancements or time savings. The best technology investments can have secondary benefits, as well, including the possibility of helping organizations become more attractive to potential partners that can help promote their ultimate objectives. Seattle-based Vulcan Inc. – the engine behind Microsoft co-founder Paul G. Allen’s vision to generate positive impact around the world – applies this rigor in all its efforts as it seeks to achieve lasting impact with its work. In this session, Vulcan senior executives Art Min, Vice President of Impact, and Chris Emura, Executive Director for Engineering, shared how they assess data and technology investments before and during project implementation, and offered guidance on how to deploy a similar decision and evaluation framework in our organizations.
Unlocking Existing Data to Create New Solutions Through a Data Trust Collaborative: A Real-World Example
A data trust collaborative is a legal, technical, and governance framework that brings together organizations to securely connect their respective data in ways that create new value for their organizations and the public good. These connected data resources allow individuals and organizations to obtain the dynamic, real-time information they need to achieve their individual and collective goals, by laying the groundwork for a host of user-centered tools. In this session, moderated by Rob Hope of the SF Foundation, Stephen Bediako (Path Group), Matt Gee (BrightHive), and Alejandra Landin (Laney College) discussed their experience with Project Signal, an example of an emerging data trust collaborative here in California that strives to address the longstanding challenges associated with employment and training.
Data! Let’s Make It Simple
In this workshop, Michelle Molina, program evaluator at Connecting Evidence, led attendees through various interactive activities. They walked away with a better understanding of how to start small and build on the opportunities already present in their organization. Attendees took stock of the work they are already doing, discussed what information would be useful to know, explored potential data collection options, and considered how they might incorporate these solutions into their work.
Zero to Sixty for Data Security
As a result of applications moving closer to devices and users, and data becoming increasingly more challenging to analyze, organizations need to leverage cloud and mobile technologies with access to real-time data flows and analytics to remain effective. This presents a particular security paradox for nonprofits, NGOs, and other local actors: while technology offerings and capacities are increasingly more robust, the best way to ensure a secure data flow is to reduce complexity. In this talk, Michael Roytman, co-founder of Dharma Platform and chief data scientist at Kenna Security, explored the people, processes, and technologies that offer simple-yet-scalable security solutions for Navigating the Digital Now in a rapidly changing data-first world.
Building Better Blockchain Technology: The Blockchain Ethical Design Framework
Emerging technologies like blockchain can provide an array of solutions to social and economic challenges. But the design and implementation of technologies like this can have resounding and sometimes unforeseen effects on people’s lives. Cara LaPointe, senior fellow at the Beeck Center for Social Impact and Innovation at Georgetown University, presented “The Blockchain Ethical Design Framework,” a tool used to build better blockchain solutions across a wide range of applications. The Framework presents an ecosystem design methodology which focuses on creating positive social impacts.
Facing the Facts: Security and Privacy and IoT
More of us are buying smart products for our businesses and homes that can help organize our life, give new insights into our health and wellbeing, or let us monitor things from a distance. However, many of today’s smart products are rushed to market with little consideration for basic security and privacy protections. This allows hackers to spy on you, access your network and data, and use your devices to attack the Internet. How did we get here and how can this be addressed? In this session, Jeff Wilbur, technical director at the Internet Society, looked at the driving forces behind the lack of security and privacy in many IoT products, and efforts underway to raise the bar and better help us make informed choices.
Algorithms and Social Spaces
Computational algorithms and AI (artificial intelligence) are increasingly being deployed across society. In many situations, their usage is relatively straightforward. But when they are used to aid in decisions that can impact people’s lives and choices, the situation can become far more complicated. A People’s Guide to AI is an educational and speculative approach to understanding AI and its growing impact across cultural and socio-technical spaces. Mimi Onuhoa and Diana Nucera, co-authors of A People’s Guide to AI, presented this lecture/ hands-on workshop, offering a crash-course on the ethics and effects of algorithms. The session uncovered how algorithms in social spaces can exclude and prioritize certain people, and explored what algorithmic accountability can look like in practice.
The Transformative Power of Predictive Analytics
Predictive analytics is no longer a buzzword only heard in Silicon Valley. Discover how organizations can develop different methods of implementing predictive analytics to help address equity inequalities. In this session, Parag Gupta from the Stupski Foundation and Jeff Gold from the CSU Chancellor’s Office highlighted a case study where public education institutions are successfully using predictive analytics to close the equity gap in graduation between students of different socioeconomic and racial backgrounds.
Meet the 2017 Digital Impact Grantees
Attendees met the 2017 cohort of Digital Impact Grantees and learned how they are building a higher impact social sector founded in responsible digital data use and infrastructure.
Closing Keynote: The Viral Versus the Vital
Henry Timms, co-author of New Power, co-founder of #GivingTuesday and President of 92Y, asked a set of critical questions about the responsibilities and opportunities in our digital lives, as individuals, organizations and as a society at large.