Module 2.3: Assessing the Civic Data Needs of Communities
Introduction
This module introduces participants to ways of determining community needs surrounding open civic data in an affirming and collaborative way.
Guiding Questions
How can we use a strengths-based approach to engaging communities in open civic data?
How can we work with patrons to identify their community’s needs?
Vignette
As part of their civic data initiative, a public library is exploring how readily available datasets could be valuable to the communities the library serves. The library invites community members to attend an information session introducing open civic data and discusses what data sets would be of particular interest to the communities served by the library, along with how patrons could contribute to education about and around the data sets.
Instructional Materials
Video
Video Files
Script and Slide Deck
Script and Slide Deck Files
Activities
Assessing Strengths & Identifying Benefits
Overview: This activity involves applying a strengths-based approach to community data use. With this activity, we will begin to consider the communities that could potentially use civic data to advance their work and interests. This discussion activity provides a beginning point for considering the existing strengths of communities, the ways that open data could further these strengths, and engagement approaches. Through a strengths-based assessment, libraries and data intermediaries can set priorities for data publication and shape their participation in the civic data ecosystem in ways that are responsive to community goals.
This activity is best completed in small groups. This activity can be done with LIS student participants or library worker participants.
Supplies: No supplies needed
Time: 20-30 minutes
Activity
Set-up
Divide into groups of three or four. Situate yourself within a particular library or archive. For LIS students, this can be a library in your University’s region.
If you are working in a group with individuals from many different areas, you can also focus your discussion on how you would approach learning more about a community so that you can investigate data needs and existing strengths.
2. Identification of Connected Communities
Begin by discussing examples of civic data that your local government and civic organizations may produce (e.g. environmental data, health data, park location data)
Which community organizations and groups in your region do work in areas connected to this data?
Choose one example of a community group or organization. What strengths does this community bring to their work that could be built upon through access to open civic data? What efforts and activities would benefit from access to open civic data?
3. Brainstorm engagement
In Module 2.3, we discussed approaches for involving communications in conversations about the work and data that would support it. These conversations could help to set priorities for data publication and to align library open data roles with community strengths and goals.
Reflect on how you would begin this engagement and facilitate these conversations. Would you use one of the methods discussed [Think-Pair-Share; Round Robin; Focus groups]? Another approach? What questions would you bring to the group to better understand their work, goals, and how civic open data can support both?
Activity Files
Resources
www.benton.org/blog/getting-bead-community-asset-mapping
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