The Polis Center is pleased to host a new speaker series focused on the use of data and information technology for equity and social justice.  Through this series, we aim to introduce SOIC faculty and staff to new concepts, promote cross-learning, and spark collaboration. Example topics include:

• The role of data in social justice
• Advancing equity with data - case studies in local government, health, environmental justice, criminal justice, housing, and more
• Avoiding bias in data collection, visualization, and interpretation
• Geographic data in equity

 The series kicks off with an overview of equitable data practices and how they are being applied for positive social change.

 Equity in Data Use – Perspectives from The Urban Institute

SoIC Faculty and Staff Webinar

Wednesday, August 31, 11:30 a.m.-12:45 p.m. ET

Presenters

Kathryn Pettit, Principal Research Associate, Co-Director, National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership (NNIP), Urban Institute

Sonia Torres Rodriguez, Metropolitan Housing and Communities Policy Center Research Analyst, The Urban Institute

 Kathryn and Sonia will share highlights of NNIP’s process to ensure communities have access to data and skills to use information to advance equity and well-being across neighborhoods.

 You will learn:

• Individual and collective rights and harms to consider in developing approaches to data use to build trust that efforts are transparent and inclusive
• Three principles to guide equitable data practice: beneficence, respect for persons, and justice
• How The Urban Institute and NNIP partners operationalize these principles to advance racial equity in its work to strengthen communities and improve people’s well-being

More about our presenters

Kathryn Pettit, Principal Research Associate, Co-Director, National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership (NNIP), Urban Institute, is a principal research associate in the Metropolitan Housing and Communities Policy Center at the Urban Institute, where her research focuses on neighborhood change and how communities use data for more effective and equitable decision making. She is currently serving as the Interim Vice President leading the Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy. Pettit directs the National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership, a network of three dozen local organizations that collect, organize, and use neighborhood data to inform local advocacy and decision making. She frequently presents the model and accomplishments of the network and local partners. Kathryn has produced two books on the role of data in community change: Strengthening Communities for Neighborhood Data and What Counts: Harnessing Data for America’s Communities and co-authored the 2021 paper Envisioning a  New Future: Building Trust  for Data Use for the Data Funders Collaborative.

Sonia Torres Rodriguez is a research analyst in the Metropolitan Housing and Communities Policy Center at the Urban Institute. Torres Rodríguez applies quantitative and qualitative approaches to the study of policies and programs related to labor and housing markets. Their research interests include racial equity, neighborhood change, equitable recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, equitable development, econometric analysis, and community-engaged methods. Sonia also assists with the management of the National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership, a network advancing the effective and equitable use of data and technology.  Before joining Urban, Sonia was a research fellow for Stanford’s Center for Poverty and Inequality, supporting a national qualitative and ethnographic study of poverty and inequality in the United States. 

More about NNIP

The National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership (NNIP) is a learning network, coordinated by the Urban Institute, that connects independent partner organizations in more than 30 cities. Its partners use local expertise and data to connect residents, nonprofits, government, and other stakeholders to build a shared understanding of community issues and develop solutions together. NNIP was formed in 1996 by six local organizations that a saw a need for neighborhood-level data to inform local decision making. Creation of this capacity, which did not exist in any U.S. city at the time, represented an important technical and institutional breakthrough. The founding organizations believed that by democratizing information, they could give residents and community organizations a stronger voice in improving their neighborhoods. Therein lies its mission: to ensure all communities have access to data and the skills to use information to advance equity and well-being across neighborhoods.

More about and The Urban Institute

The Urban Institute is a nonprofit research organization that provides data and evidence to help advance upward mobility and equity. It is a trusted source for changemakers who seek to strengthen decision making, create inclusive economic growth, and improve the well-being of families and communities. For more than 50 years, Urban has delivered facts that inspire solutions—and this remains our charge today. Its mission is to open minds, shape decisions, and offer solutions through economic and social policy research.

More about The Polis Center

The Polis Center at IUPUI works with community and academic partners to define, measure, and actively improve community health, well-being, and resiliency. We offer 30 years of expertise in data-informed planning, analysis, convening, consultation, and collaboration toward meaningful community change. 

 Established in 1989, The Polis Center is an applied research unit in the IU School of Informatics and Computing at IUPUI committed to linking university and community knowledge. Our strengths are in community and place-based research, analysis, collaborations, and advanced information technologies (especially geospatial technologies). We support government, community-based, academic, and healthcare organizations in Central Indiana and beyond. 

 The Polis Center has a staff of 25 full-time team members skilled in creating and applying geospatial information technologies and building capacity around their use. Polis manages projects such as the SAVI Community Information System, State of Aging in Central Indiana, and Digital Encyclopedia of Indianapolis, and it provides spatial data integration for initiatives such as the Indiana Data Harvest.