I've been thinking a lot lately about how to help organisations use data for strategy and develop a strategy for data. I've written a blog on where I think might be a good place to start (feedback very welcome!) https://t.co/lj5IyMk2Sn

It’s a big day for cartogram lovers!!!

This has been an exceptional night.

#DWP's decision to prosecute #Carers is heartless and stupid. As a former DWP Minister I think the entire #carersallowance needs reform @MarshadeCordova @patrickjbutler @Helen_Barnard . These people doing essential work and are treated abysmally. Here's why

I’m using LinkedIn far more than Twitter these days. If we’ve connected on here and you enjoy charity / data content then do connect on LinkedIn too

https://t.co/OW9aVbFS6I

In the UK, two important initiatives to break the nonprofit starvation cycle have been: - Support for grantees to measure and report 'Full cost recovery' -@IVAR_UK’s open and trusting programme

This leads to unsustainable, ineffective, and often harmful working practices. Two studies with large sample sizes find: (1) A decline in reported overhead expenditures over time (2) The existence of a possible 'optimal' spending on overheads

It's #theorythursday and this week's theory is the "nonprofit starvation cycle", which occurs when the true cost of overheads are not recognised, forcing organisations to spend less than is required on essential costs such as infrastructure, staffing, and governance.

🚨🗺️📊Calling all UK local data nerds… After more than a year of development, we’ve just launched #ExploreLocalStatistics, a brand new way to explore 57 datasets from across government right down to a local authority level! https://t.co/zmXyiYeuXz 🧵1/5

https://t.co/Vnr2s01GsB

It can be hard to get funding for tech and data costs, but reframing the purpose of tech and data as contributing to an organisation's overall strategy, to the stewardship of resources, and long-term sustainability, might help. #theorythursday

I love this paper, and it helped me to think about how we frame funding bids for technology and data work and infrastructure.

This study in NVSQ suggests so! It finds that describing a clear purpose for funding overheads overcomes some of the aversion to providing donations that activity that is more 'back room' than 'front line'.

If we reframe core costs / overheads as contributing to an organisation's long-term sustainability and capacity, then are donors more likely to be willing to fund them?

#theorythursday

https://t.co/LYzIITuc9L

You can read more on data infrastructures: https://t.co/XJ8sZo5ter On Critical Data Studies and the data assemblage:

A helpful tool for this is the idea of 'data assemblages', which are the economic, technical, political, and social elements of data production.

In organisations this means we can assess fully the factors which influence the creation and use of data, and gives us space to reimagine new data infrastructures.

Data infrastructure literacy is important because it helps us to support individuals to not just read, interpret, and use data effectively (data literacy) but to understand the “wider socio-technical infrastructures through which data is created, stored and analysed”