$30k Digital Impact grant aims to improve sharing of grantmaking data
Why and how the Ariadne network of 600 funders collect and share data and how they might do so better will be under exploration thanks to a $30k grant from Digital Impact, part of the Digital Civil Society Lab at Stanford University.
360Giving will advise the network on open data formats as part of the project, with The Engine Room leading the research component. This will include interviews with Ariadne members to understand the risks and emerging best practice in sharing grants data openly. It will cover issues such as data redaction, licensing, informed consent and ownership.
The aim of the project is to address perceived risks around sharing grants data and establish processes to diminish that risk in order to support the whole grantmaking sector to improve how it collects and shares data.
Ariadne and The Engine Room will publish a report and framework in spring 2018 and also take part in a conference at Stanford University to share their learning.
Julie Broome, Ariadne Director, says:
“An effective and just social sector relies on coordination across funders and transparency about what they are supporting, but there are sensitivities in funding information, and sharing data in irresponsible ways can cause harm. This project will examine the data shared by funders in the Ariadne network, and produce actionable learning on members’ data maturity, the perceived impact of opening data, and the decision-making process for opening it. It will produce a responsible data decision-making process and, offer insights into the challenges funders face when publishing data.”
Rachel Rank, 360Giving CEO, says:
“We are excited to be part of this project. The award will fund a key piece of work to understand some of the barriers to publishing open data and will create a rigorous framework to mitigate them which we believe will encourage more sharing of grantmaking data.”
The full list of grantees from this year’s funding round is available via the Digital Impact website.