The document discusses strategies for enhancing data literacy by empowering non-experts to engage with data, emphasizing the importance of collaboration and inclusive analysis. It highlights initiatives undertaken by the World Food Programme to build a community of practice around data literacy and improve operational effectiveness. Various tools and techniques, such as data sculptures and participatory collection, are presented as means to tell compelling data stories and foster a better understanding of data.

1. Empowering Those That
Don’t “Speak” Data

2. Recognizing Data as an Asset
improve
operations
spread the
message
bring people
together

3. Learning to Speak Data

4. Barriers
technical jargon
lack of confidence
technical expertise
IT-centric thinking
perceived irrelevance
organizational silos budgetary constraints
boring
https://medium.com/@rahulbot/building-a-data-culture-4f5c116448fc

5. Separate Technology from Process
Excel doesn’t help you learn to ask better
questions.
R won’t pick the most appropriate chart
for telling your story.
Tableau doesn’t tell you which narrative
arc will convince your audience.

6. Putting it Into Practice

7. Opportunities for Engagement
Asking
questions
Gathering
data
Finding a
story
Telling your
story
Trying it out
Group brainstorming
Participatory collection
Inclusive analysis
Collaborative creation
Realistic evaluation

9. Meet People Where They Are
Sketching a Data Story Building a Data Sculpture
D’Ignazio, C., & Bhargava, R. (2016). DataBasic: Design Principles, Tools and Activities for Data
Literacy Learners. The Journal of Community Informatics, 12(3).
Bhargava, R., & D’Ignazio, C. (2017). Data Sculptures as a Playful and Low-Tech Introduction to
Working with Data. Presented at the Designing Interactive Systems, Edinburgh, Scotland.
Making Arguments with Data

10. Paper Spreadsheets
Introduce people to data, data cleaning, data-types, and each other

11. Data Sculptures
Use physical craft materials to quickly find and tell a story in 3D

12. A Case Study - WFP
Maryna Taran

13. WFP Data Literacy
Maryna Taran,
Field Data Coordinator

14. The World Food Programme (WFP) is
the world's largest humanitarian agency
fighting hunger worldwide, delivering
food assistance in emergencies and
working with communities to improve
nutrition and build resilience.
WFP is funded entirely by donations
from governments, companies and
private individuals.
4

15. WFP is headquartered in Rome.
We have a global presence that includes:
• 83 Country Offices worldwide
• 6 Regional Bureaux (Bangkok, Cairo,
Dakar, Johannesburg, Nairobi and Panama)
• 14 offices in world capitals
• A vast supply chain logistics network that
enables us to quickly deliver life-saving
food assistance anywhere in the world
• Specialist centres for innovation
and development of sustainable solutions
to hunger.
GLOBAL PRESENCE
6

16. Data Literacy in WFP
16
Started in 2017
Building a Community of Practice
• Role of the Data Coordinators
• Data Fellows Community
Operationalizing the Concept
• Data Literacy Sessions
• Data Week 2017
• Data Mapping Missions:
assessment, literacy, tools
• Data Viz Challenges

17. Data Literacy in WFP
17

18. Applying what we’ve learned
18

19. Speaking Data

20. Opportunities for Engagement
Asking
questions
Gathering
data
Finding a
story
Telling your
story
Trying it out
Group brainstorming
Participatory collection
Inclusive analysis
Collaborative creation
Realistic evaluation

21. Empowering Those That
Don’t “Speak” Data
Rahul Bhargava
rahulb@mit.edu
@rahulbot
datacultureproject.org
datatherapy.org
databasic.io