Data Dive, March 2-4, 2012
(Co-Hosted by 2011 American Express NGen Fellows and DataKind)
Our cohort and DataKind hosted an open call for submissions from nonprofits within the Independent Sector network in the Washington DC area. Out of 30 organizations that submitted proposals, three were selected based on their applications and the data sets they had available: National Environmental Education Foundation, GuideStar USA, and DC Action for Children. Our NGen cohort was delighted by how many organizations applied to participate (the largest number of any previous Data Dive event), which demonstrated the clear appetite in the sector for support in analyzing and visualizing data.
The Data Dive weekend brought together more than 120 data scientists, graduate students, government and corporate employees to volunteer their time and skills to help these three nonprofit organizations solve a pressing data challenge. These volunteers were incredible and we encourage you to check out the Storify and YouTube videos to hear their own reflections and stories about their desire to lend their talents to contribute to advancing a social agenda:
After brief presentations from the participating organizations outlining the data challenges they faced, groups of data scientists formed self-selected data teams for each of the organizations. Throughout the weekend, the teams sorted through data sets to answer each organization’s data question and to make recommendations on ways the organizations could build upon their existing sources to advance their missions.
The full detail of the weekend was captured by Fellows through photos, videos, Tweets, posts and a set of three curated Storifies. We encourage you to look at the stories on the weekend, how the effort unfolded and the impact it had on the three participating nonprofits.
Storify on Kick-Off Event: Data Lovers and Do Gooders Day 1
Storify on DC Action for Children: Improving Opportunities for Kids Through Big Data
Storify on National Environmental Education Foundation: Tracking Environmental Education: NEEF’s Big Hairy Audacious Goal
Storify on GuideStar: Guidestar Team Begin’s Nonprofit “Early Warning System”
