Black Equity Coalition Community Data Justice Working Group and Community Justice Data Collaborative

In 2023 the City announced a partnership with the Black Equity Coalition (BEC) Data Justice Working Group (DWJG) to found the Data Justice for Pittsburgh’s Black Neighborhoods initiative, aiming to build decision-making power for Black Pittsburghers and those that have not been included in decisions made about data in the City of Pittsburgh.

Data Justice for Pittsburgh’s Black Neighborhoods is one of four awarded projects across the country of the de Beaumont Foundation’s Modernized Antiracist Data Ecosystems (MADE) for Health Justice Program. The de Beaumont foundation awarded $1.265 million to the BEC to create a health equity-focused local data ecosystem. The Data Justice initiative’s formal launch occurred November 2024.

Read The launch Community Data Justice Collaborative

The Data Justice initiative draws on the experience of the BEC DWJG’s coalition of social scientists, civic community leaders, philanthropists, physicians, and academics to work on matters of racial equity by addressing the Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) in Black and Brown communities.

Partners involved in the initiative include the BEC, POISE Foundation, University of Pittsburgh Center for Health Equity, City of Pittsburgh Department of Innovation and Performance, City of Pittsburgh’s Mayor’s Office, Carnegie Mellon University Community Robotics, Education and Technology Empowerment (CREATE) Lab, The Forbes Funds, Gateway Medical Society, UrbanKind Institute, University of Pittsburgh Center for Social and Urban Research Western Pennsylvania Regional Data Center (WPRDC) and other community experts.

There are two components to the initiative: the Community Data Justice Collaborative (CDJC), and Neighborhood Power Building Project (NPP).

The CJDC convenes a group of residents with a variety of identities, backgrounds, and experiences to inform how the City collects and uses data and technology. Together with the BEC and City, Collaborative members and City Data Coordinators engage in participatory activities designed to spark conversation and deliberation.

This effort is foundational to the City’s emerging data governance process. The Data Justice Project goals are to ensure meaningful participation with the CJDC in City data governance, including the following areas where the CJDC has power to impact governance:

  • Data Policies - integrate CJDC into data policy feedback cycle. Inform policies relating to privacy, data disaggregation, and algorithms. Review and update existing and in-process data policies.

  • Data Products - co-creation of a style guide and feedback on public data products: dashboards, maps, and other visualization projects.

  • Open Data Requests - Goal is to establish CJDC as data intermediary alongside WPRDC to help identify community needs for data the City can make open.

CJDC members serve as ambassadors to communities that they are a part of. In this role, they solicit input, advice, and feedback from larger groups of people with whom they have a connection.

The NPP directly engages with community members in Pittsburgh's Larimer neighborhood including community partner the Larimer Consensus Group and residents. Through the NPP, partners are working to develop a new model for how community data is used in Pittsburgh, with the shared belief that using data and understanding context can help to build community power and guide actions. Larimer was selected through a competitive application process related to their capabilities and interest in developing a community health improvement plan.

Together with the BEC DJWG, the City, and Larimer Consensus Group, an intergenerational group of residents are working to develop a health improvement plan, building power towards improving the quality of housing and the built environment. The group convenes monthly to hold meaningful dialogue about building data systems that center equity and justice in communities.

Workshops involve mutual learning between technical experts and community members, engaging with data to start conversations, as focusing on data alone leaves out experiences not otherwise captured that contribute to disparities in the SDoH. The project is engaging local artists to explore new approaches to working with data and improve interpretation of the neighborhood’s built environment.