The world is becoming increasingly data-driven, with over 2.5 quintillion bytes of data created every day. Across all industries, data is reshaping how problems are defined and how solutions are developed.
Companies often use data to inform their internal decision-making process to meet business objectives. Some organizations also leverage data to address pressing social issues. With the evolution of data science and the ability to apply analytical methods in new areas, unique insights are advancing the common good through data. This concept is commonly referred to as data philanthropy.
Here is a primer on data philanthropy, along with examples of data philanthropy initiatives that use data analytics to bring about positive social impact.
What Is Data Philanthropy?
Data philanthropy occurs when organizations share and utilize data to solve social issues and support the public.
Data is immensely powerful. Companies can glean valuable insights about consumers, products, and market trends. This data is not only valuable for organizations, but it can also act as a decision-making aid for researchers, government agencies, and nonprofits that are focused on addressing social issues.
Organizations looking to make a social impact can use data philanthropy to achieve their goal. Private companies can donate their data to the public to provide insight into important issues and facilitate social change.
Below are examples of how today’s companies are using data for the greater good.
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Examples of Data Philanthropy in Action
1. Eliminating Medical Prescription Errors
MedAware is a patient safety platform that uses analytics to search for unusual patterns in medical prescription and diagnosis data that would signal a prescription error. The organization’s machine-learning algorithms analyze data from millions of electronic health records to identify outliers in prescribing patterns, alerting health care professionals of prescription errors.
By extracting and analyzing data, MedAware could potentially save countless lives while also reducing the medical costs associated with prescription errors.
2. Ensuring Equitable Working Conditions
Laborlink, powered by Good World Solutions, collects data from international factory workers using mobile phone technology. Empowering workers to report their working conditions, Laborlink collects real-time data about wages, safety, and worker satisfaction.
Not only are companies better informed about working conditions in their international factories, but they can also alter their practices based on this new source of data. This ensures that organizations maintain ethical and sustainable factories while providing a safer working environment for employees.
3. Saving Lives with Targeted Campaigns
The American Red Cross Information Management unit shares data with decision-makers to better mitigate and respond to disasters. DataKind, a community of data scientists and organizations, worked with data from the American Red Cross to identify US counties that could benefit from smoke alarm installation campaigns.
DataKind combined Red Cross data with other data sets to predict and map the US counties most likely to see an uptake in smoke alarms and develop targeted recommendations for delivering the Red Cross program. To conclude the initiative, the American Red Cross launched the Home Fire Risk Map, a data visualization used throughout the country.
4. Driving Governmental Progress
In HBS Online’s home city of Boston, local officials are using data to drive government progress. From the data dashboard that hangs in the mayor’s office displaying critical citywide data, to monitoring the city’s trash cans to ensure timely collection, data is helping to build a stronger Boston.
The City of Boston also released Analyze Boston, an online open data hub featuring information regarding the city’s economy, environment, and public safety. By sharing these data sets, individuals and outside organizations can analyze and visualize the data to glean insights that can make the City of Boston a better place to live for all.
Making a Difference with Data Science
Data has the power to solve some of today’s most critical social issues, such as global health and climate change.
By sharing information in the form of data, organizations can facilitate policy changes, prevent disasters, and improve the lives of people worldwide. However, to participate in data philanthropy, businesses need to be well-equipped with employees who are adept at working with data.
Data professionals, such as data scientists and data analysts, who can effectively gather, analyze, and visualize data are the backbone of data philanthropy. Without their expertise and capabilities, organizations are unable to get the most out of their data.
Even if you aren’t a data scientist, understanding how to work with data can help you make a difference in your organization and beyond.
Are you interested in improving your data science and analytical skills? Learn more about Data Science Principles and our other online analytics courses, and discover how you can use data to generate insights and drive social change.
This post was updated on February 19, 2021. It was originally published on February 2, 2016.