We are very much looking forward to hearing what our latest speaker has to say at DataFest 2018.
Erin Akred of DataKind, whose mission is harnessing the power of data science in the service of humanity, will be discussing data philanthropy in action.
DataKind does this by bringing together teams of skilled volunteers with not-for-profits and social enterprises who have data-oriented challenges they want to resolve, but not the resources to tackle them. Akred is the facilitator for this, having been the first member of the newly-created in-house team in 2015.
Akred will explain the six-point framework which DataKind has put together to evaluate projects brought to it by NFPs. It recognises that it is not just about collecting data and handing over a server to a team of volunteers – there are other components that need to be in place if a project is going to succeed, she said.
From my point of view, we are now seeing people at the beginning of a moment of using data for philanthropy, said Akred. Her session in Edinburgh will be an ideal chance to see this in action and we can’t wait!