Data and Community
Data are a valuable source for community development and decision-making. An exponential growth in the volume of data supports the potential of data, particularly as a community source, with a recent movement toward open data that makes local, regional, and national data available to the public. This panel brings together professionals from data intermediary organizations and knowledge organizations (public library) to talk about their experiences working with data for community and provide their perspectives on any issue relevant to the impact of data on community, implications for information professionals and library services, as well as data (literacy) skills.
Friday, September 21 at 1:00 p.m. in IT255
Data Innovation in Economic Development, Ellen Cutter, Director of Strategy and Research at Greater Fort Wayne Inc.
Abstract: As the Director of Strategy, Research, and Marketing at Greater Fort Wayne Inc. and a certified urban planner with 15 years of experience, Ellen Cutter is an expert in community and economic data. Data visualization and community context can bring to life ho-hum economic data and help to strengthen engagement in economic development. By exploring non-traditional datasets and employing high-energy marketing campaigns, Greater Fort Wayne Inc. is setting a new bar for economic development strategy and grassroots community engagement.
Bio: Ellen Cutter is the former Director at Community Research Institute at Fort Wayne and currently the Director of Strategy and Research at Greater Fort Wayne Inc. She is passionate about telling stories with data, tracking a multitude of economic data points to better understand the opportunities for Allen County’s future.
Lessons from 25 Years as a Local Data Intermediary, Sharon Kandris, Associate Director, The Polis Center at IUPUI
Abstract: Over the past 25 years, The Polis Center has developed one of the nation’s largest neighborhood-level information systems to support data-informed decision making in Central Indiana. Sharon will share insights and lessons learned in creating and sustaining a data system of this type. Topics will include the role of data intermediary in the Indianapolis setting, the changing data landscape (particularly as it pertains to nonprofits and community-based organizations), challenges and successes in building a data-informed culture, our relationship with local libraries, and examples or organizational of these data for decision making.
Bio: Sharon Kandris, associate director, Polis Center, and director, community informatics, joined Polis in 1999 after working with the City of Concord, North Carolina Planning Department, where she supported the development and maintenance of the city’s GIS. With over ten years of experience with GIS applications, analysis, and consulting, she directs several large community information systems covering multiple disciplines. She is responsible for establishing the strategic direction for the center’s interest in community informatics, building partnerships, and applying spatial technologies to analysis of local, state, and national issues.
Civic Data Science: Lessons Learned When Developing Community Data Projects, Jerica Copeny, M.L.I.S., M.S., Civic Data Scientist, Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library
Abstract: Civic Data Science continues to expand its reach through the world in using data science techniques such as, data visualizations, machine learning to expand the understanding of social issues: education, health, etc. With data science as a field continuing to forge new paths of meaning. This talk will focus on the lessons learned through challenges and opportunities to explore the evolving area of civic data science and project development in public institutions such as public libraries and academic environments that extends with working directly with various communities. At the end of the talk you will have the knowledge on how to approach civic data science projects in the community while understanding the challenges that are currently still being discovered.
Bio: Jerica Copeny is one of the first data scientists in the nation to work in a public library. She is the Civic Data Scientist at Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library in Evansville Indiana. She is recently a fellow for the Summer Fellowship of Data Science for Social Good through the University of Chicago. She was selected as 2018 Innovators for the Library Journal’s Mover & Shakers. She obtained her Master of Science in Human Computer Interaction from DePaul University and Master of Library of Information Science from Dominican University. Her sixyear background is a cross disciplinary approach of HCI, qualitative and quantitative techniques utilized for helping to understand social issues such as education, literacy, health, and race through a lens of data.
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