At CODE, we believe that better data and analytics are essential to build a more just, equitable society. For the past several years we have explored how data can be used to advance equity in health, environmental justice, workforce opportunity, housing, and policing. Near the end of 2023, we published a web resource,
Mapping Racial Equity: From Communities to Data, that provides an overview of CODE’s Open Data for Equity Program and highlights what we’ve learned in those key areas so far.
Since 2020, CODE has collaborated with government officials, advocates, nonprofits, and local decision makers to identify how data can be used to drive solutions and advance equitable outcomes for marginalized people through our Open Data for Equity (OD4E) program. We are now building on OD4E’s findings through new collaborations with experts in the data for equity space that seek to understand - and find data-driven solutions to - salient equity issues faced by communities.
Through our work, we’ve seen how an intersectional approach to data is necessary to understand and address inequities in American society. For example, local officials need data on housing, health access, policing, and other social factors to understand and address pressing issues like substance abuse and community violence in marginalized communities.
CODE is now seeking to partner with organizations that have expertise in equity issues to develop effective, intersectional approaches to using data for equity. We are also exploring opportunities to work with one or more U.S. cities on a data for equity pilot program. We believe that we can leverage our expertise in convening, resource and recommendation development, and intersectional data to help address equity issues at a local level.
