School of Data is a global network committed to advancing data literacy in civil society. Information that directly impact people’s lives is increasingly accessible but civil society is falling behind in making effective use of it. Through our global network of data literacy practitioners and trainers, School of Data seeks to address this data skills gaps in order to amplify the messages of civil society through the use of data. We level the playing field by ensuring that civil society organisations and newsrooms have the knowledge, resources and tools they need to participate fully in the information age.
School of Data is a network of data literacy practitioners composed of organisations and individuals. Together, they implement an array of data literacy programmes in their respective countries and regions. Members of School of Data network work to support civil society organizations (CSOs), journalists, and citizens to engage with and use data in their efforts to create better, more equitable and more sustainable societies. Over the past four years, School of Data has succeeded in developing and sustaining a thriving network of data literacy practitioners across Europe, Latin America, Asia and Africa.
Their network includes 13 organisations across the world and a total of 101 active individuals, all of whom contribute to School of Data mission and programmes. They have trained over 6,500 people through their workshops and community events. They have mentored dozens of organisations to become tech savvy and data-driven. Their flagship initiatives, the School of Data Fellowship Programme, was piloted in 2013 and has now successfully supported 31 Fellows in 25 countries to become effective data literacy trainers and to provide long-term data capacity building in their communities. The Fellowship programme specifically run in partnership with organisations in their network and beyond: SocialTIC and Internews in Latin America, the Natural Resource Governance Institute and OD4D in Africa, The Engine Room in Eastern Europe.
Their methodologies and approach for delivering hands-on data training and data literacy skills, such as the data pipeline and the data expedition, have now been replicated in various formats by organisations around the world.
These successes are due to the passionate dedication of the members of the School of Data network who have been adopting, adapting and delivering School of Data training in their local communities while simultaneously feeding back their learnings and materials to be reused by larger network. The governance structure of School of Data reflects this commitment of our network members, who have elected our second Steering Committee tasked of overseeing the strategy of the network.
