Dear Colleagues and Friends,

Tech Networks of Boston (also known as TNB) is pleased to invite local employees of nonprofit organizations to a Roundtable session on the Boston Indicators Project and its relationship to nonprofit organizations in the region. Our featured guest, Jessica Martin of the Boston Foundation, will also offer many insights about the art of interpreting data.

Whether it’s big data or small data, reporting outcomes or measuring impact – the supply of and demand for more, better, faster data about programs, individuals, and communities seems to increase by the minute. Many nonprofit professionals are asking themselves, "If there’s so much data, why can’t I find that one number I need? How do I know if I’ve found the right data set? Why are there two different figures for what seem to be the same metric? And, now that I’ve found it, what does this really tell me?"

These are all questions that Jessica has asked herself while tracking down, analyzing, interpreting and reporting on the more than 300 data points that support the Boston Indicator Project’s framework of goals and indicators that cut across ten sectors: Civic Vitality, Cultural Life & the Arts, Economy, Education, Environment & Energy, Health, Housing, Public Safety, Technology, and Transportation.

Please join this session for a candid Q&A conversation in which Jessica will share how she has managed to answer (or not answer) those questions and navigate the vast landscape of data and information. Learn more about the Boston Indicators Project, what it does and how it can be a resource for your work. Come with questions about anything from the latest trends affecting Boston to new tools for data storytelling to nitty-gritty data challenges you’re facing in the real world.

Here's a bit more about our featured guest:

Jessica Martin is Director of the Boston Indicators Project, a special initiative of the Boston Foundation that aims to deepen civic understanding of the region’s key trends, challenges and opportunities using high-quality, open data. In this role, she leads the Project’s work with a broad set of partners including the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, City of Boston and numerous public and nonprofit agencies to track and report Boston’s progress on a set of measurable goals across ten sectors, to build the capacity of communities to access and use data, and to inform civic dialogue and decisions with high-quality analysis and reports on the state of Boston, its neighborhoods and the region. She is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and the John W. McCormack School of Policy Studies at the University of Massachusetts, Boston and worked as an analyst in the private sector before joining the Boston Foundation in 2007.

Please note:

1) In keeping with the spirit of the TNB Roundtable series, this session will NOT be a sales pitch for any product or service. It will be a professional development opportunity for nonprofit professionals who want to learn with and from their peers in other organizations.

2) This session is for employees of nonprofit organizations. It is not designed to meet the needs of vendors, volunteers, students, consultants, job-seekers, and others.

3) Priority in registration will be given to those who are employed by nonprofit organizations that hold full membership in the Massachusetts Nonprofit Network.

4) Participation in this session is free of charge for nonprofit professionals. However, you must have a confirmed reservation in order to attend.

5) If this session is booked to capacity by the time you seek to register for it, please go ahead and put yourself on the waiting list. We have a good track record of finding seats for nonprofit professionals on the waiting list.

We hope that you can join us for a vigorous and informative conversation!

Best regards from Deborah