What happens when communities help shape how data is created, shared, and used?
This powerful conversation is led by the Community Data Justice Collaborative, a cohort of Pittsburgh residents working to ensure data systems serve people, not just institutions.
In this talk, members of the Collaborative share why community-led data governance matters and how lived experience, history, and context must inform decisions about data that shape health, housing, safety, education, and opportunity.
From questioning who data is collected about and for, to examining how missing or biased data can cause real harm, this discussion centers equity, transparency, and accountability.
As part of the Black Equity Coalition’s Data Justice Working Group, and in partnership with the City of Pittsburgh, the Western Pennsylvania Regional Data Center, and support from the de Beaumont Foundation (MADE for Health Justice Initiative), this work amplifies historically excluded voices and builds trust between communities and institutions.
You’ll hear:
- Why data can both help and harm communities
- How community co-creation strengthens data governance
- The real-life consequences of inaccessible, biased, or missing data
- Why early, community-centered investment prevents long-term harm
- How residents can begin to question, request, and engage with local data
This is an invitation to think critically, ask better questions, and imagine what’s possible when communities are active participants in the data decisions that shape their lives.
Learn more – Watch their full presentation: https://youtu.be/e8xRauMl9CY
