CT Data Academy Goes Online with Fall Sessions

Being able to create and use data to inform decisions is an important skill, especially when so much is changing around us. CTData Academy, an initiative of the Connecticut Data Collaborative (CTData), is offering four virtual events in September and October to help Connecticut residents and professionals develop a better understanding of data literacy, data analysis, and data collection. These upcoming sessions include:

• Virtual Data Meetup on September 8, 9:30 am
• Basics of Data Literacy on September 16, 10:00 am
• Let’s Talk Data: Collecting Data to Help, Not Harm on September 23, Noon
• Data Visualization on October 20 and 27, 10:00 am

The Connecticut Data Collaborative (CTData) is a statewide public-private partnership that focuses on ensuring that public data is open and accessible. Not only is CTData an advocate for accessible data, but it also runs the CTData Academy so individuals and organizations can become more informed data users and critical data consumers. The Data Academy accomplishes this through informational sessions and workshops to help participants become more comfortable with using and disseminating data.

Due to limitations on in-person sessions because of the pandemic, CTData has switched over to online gatherings. These virtual sessions help people stay safe, and also increases the availability of the sessions, as any interested individual in Connecticut can participate via Zoom.

The first event to kick off CTData’s fall virtual sessions is the Hartford Data Meetup on September 8 at 9:30 am. The quarterly meetup of data professionals from the Greater Hartford region discusses data sources and data limitations regarding specific data topics. The September 8 topic is Policing Data, featuring guest speaker Ken Barone, Project Manager at the Institute for Municipal and Regional Policy at CCSU, who leads the CT Racial Profiling Prohibition Project. He will be providing insight on effective ways to utilize public data tools. Registration for this event is free of charge and available via Zoom. Sign up using this link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/hartford-data-meetup-sept-policing-data-registration-115752592119

The second session will be Basics of Data Literacy on September 16 at 10:00 am. This session introduces individuals to the concept of data literacy and explores what this concept looks in our professional and personal lives. This introductory workshop will give participants insights that they can put into practice immediately, and provides them with a chance to identify data skills that they would like to improve upon. Registration is also free of charge and available via Zoom. Sign up using this link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-basics-of-data-literacy-tickets-89298876343

“CTData recognizes the severity of the pandemic, and we also recognize how imperative it is for individuals to be informed, especially when it comes to analyzing and interpreting data,” said Michelle Riordan-Nold, Executive Director of the Connecticut Data Collaborative (CT Data). “This is why CTData has successfully converted all of the in-person meetings to fully virtual sessions. We are committed to helping Connecticut residents develop their data literacy skills, which is increasingly more important in business and nonprofit decision-making, as well as in our daily lives as consumers.”

The third session, being held on September 23 at 12 Noon, is Let’s Talk Data: Collecting Data to Help, Not Harm. This discussion is an informal, lunchtime discussion to talk about data and answer questions such as: How can we identify gaps in our own data collection? How can we partner with those we seek to serve in our data collection and analysis process? How can we improve our practices to reduce the likelihood that we will harm the people we seek to help through data collection? Registration for this event is free of charge. Sign up using this link https://www.eventbrite.com/e/lets-talk-data-collecting-data-to-help-not-harm-session-3-tickets-118642022483

Concluding the early fall sessions, Data Visualization, a two-session workshop, will be held on October 20 and 27 from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm. Once we learn how to collect and analyze data, we need to communicate our findings. Data visualization is one tool for effective communication of results. By learning the principles of data visualization, and learning to apply them with free tools, we can create simple, compelling charts that effectively convey insights from our data analysis. Participants will learn how to use Datawrapper and Tableau, with an eye toward clear and ethical communication of data. Registration is $15. Sign up using this link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/data-visualization-two-parts-tickets-114329243846

To sign up for any of these sessions, visit this link https://www.eventbrite.com/o/connecticut-data-collaborative-11061653320. Additional workshops are being planned for later in the year; details and registration for the workshops is available on the CTData website at https://www.ctdata.org/academy.

In addition to CTData Academy, CT Data provides customized data training, hosts easy-to-use, downloadable data, creates customized data visualizations and interactive data tools, provides data consulting services, and supports a community of data users through events and conferences. More than 200 data sets are now accessible to the public on the CTData website, including a wide array of subjects and policy categories. CTData is also the lead organization for the State of Connecticut in the U.S. Census Bureau’s State Data Center Program, and recently was recognized by the Connecticut Entrepreneur Awards in the Education category. More information is available at www.ctdata.org