An Introduction to Public Data
Event Information
Description
The Brown Institute is proud to host a day devoted to public data. It is designed for students in journalism, statistics and data science -- essentially anyone who has an interest in understanding their neighborhoods, their cities, their state and even the nation through data. Throughout the day, students will learn about what data are available and why. What might be missing and why. And how data are used to answer hard questions about who we are and how we live. The day is divided between data publishers and consumers, ending with a panel specifically designed for journalists. A rough schedule is outlined below.
09:00-09:15 Opening Remarks
09:15-10:30 Keynote Discussion
Nancy Potok, Chief Statistician of the United States, interviewed by Margo Anderson, historian of statistics, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
10:30-10:45 Break
10:45-12:15 NYC Panel
Local government produces a large number of data products for the public, ranging from surveys—like the Housing Vacancy Survey and the Community Health Survey—to administrative records—like CompStat crime reports and school report cards. This panel consists of the major data providers in New York City who will introduce some of the data products that are important for data journalists and data scientists investigating New York City. The panelists will discuss some common pitfalls public-data users should watch out for, and provide advice and resources (such as online tools) for using these datasets responsibly.
Joe Salvo, head of the Population Division at the Department of City Planning
Elyzabeth Gaumer, Assistant Commissioner for Research & Evaluation for the Department of Housing Preservation & Development
12:15-01:30 Lunch
Over lunch, we will have a presentation from Craig Campbell of the NYC Mayor's Office of Data Analytics.
01:30-02:00 Keynote Talk
Jeffrey Chen, Chief Innovation Officer for the Bureau of Economic Analysis, part of the Department of Commerce.
02:00-03:30 A Research View
The digital revolution has vastly expanded the quantity and quality of data collected by government. New surveys and Freedom of Information/Open Data laws have helped put this data in the hands of data journalists and data scientists. From the Census FactFinder and BEA realtime GDP to school report cards and participatory budgeting, the public is privvy to more government information and decision making than ever before.
At the same time, data has made policy far more complex, enabling computer algorithms to make complicated decisions about complex topics like redistricting and recidivism. Has public data truly increased transparency and accountability? Is policy more or less accessible to journalists and the public? This panel will rate the current state of government data, provide an academic context for journalists and data scientists, and anticipate the future of public data.
Ester Fuchs, Urban and Social Policy Program, Columbia SIPA
Andrew Young, NYU's Governance Lab
John Mollenkopf, Center for Urban Research at the CUNY Graduate Center
03:30-03:45 Break
03:45-05:15 Journalism Finale
We close the day with a panel of data journalists who will examine how they find and tell stories using public data. These are important lessons for aspiring data journalists and data scientists. Why were the data collected? What were the incentives and motivations behind its collection? How was it collected? How has it been used before? And are there any gaps — who is not being counted? Five practicing data journalists will share their experiences.
Tom Meagher, The Marshall Project
Sarah Ryley, The Trace
Tom McGinty, The Wall Street Journal
Annie Waldman, ProPublica
Laura Bliss, CityLab, The Atlantic
