The content on Markets For Good is driven by guest contributors and focused on monthly editorial themes that, together, provide a framework that allows us to attack an otherwise unwieldy topic: upgrading the information infrastructure of the social sector. In November we asked you, the Markets For Good audience, what you thought we should be talking about and launched a Theme Contest. And we have two winners who have given us the editorial themes that will run in January and February 2014.
Congratulations to Lauren-Glenn Davitian – Executive Director of CCTV’s Center for Media and Democracy in Burlington, Vermont and Andrew Means, founder of Data Analysts For Social Good.
Here are the themes that we will run in January and in February of 2014.
January: “Beyond Data Silos” (from Andrew Means) This theme will cover the “silo” effect from both the sector level and from an organizational level. At the sector level, we will consider data practice between social sector organizations, including comment on such topics as interoperability and using open data. At the organizational level, we will hear from professionals recommending more efficient ways for separate parts of organizations to share data in order to achieve new efficiencies and broader organizational goals.
February: “Data Visualization” (from Lauren-Glenn Davitian) This theme will examine Data Visualization – Strategy and Tactics. We will use the theme to explore whether data visualization should be used more frequently in social sector decision-making, and how it can be used. Strong advocates of data visualization see it as a strategic tool that is essential for data to be rendered usable. Others see the tactical value, but also are wary of data visualization as another set of “pretty pictures” that can inform decision-making but are not likely to fundamentally improve the way the sector understands and uses information. Markets for Good will explore various angles of this debate.
You can still participate – with your own content submission, a 500 word blog post for the February theme, “Data Visualization.” Just submit your idea via this email link and we will consider it for inclusion on the blog.
Many thanks!
Eric