Data Leaders Community of Practice program – Sep 30

Posted by Patrick J. McGovern Foundation on September 20, 2022

Patrick J. McGovern Foundation invites applications for Data Leaders Community of Practice program

The Patrick J. McGovern Foundation is committed to bridging artificial intelligence, data science, and social impact frontiers.

To that end, the foundation invites applications from nonprofit data practitioners for a new Data Leaders Community of Practice. Over two years, the Community of Practice will support current and emerging nonprofit data leaders by building a community of peers, experts, and learning opportunities focused on advancing the use of data and AI for societal and environmental benefit.

According to the foundation, nonprofit data cultures have traditionally existed to monitor and evaluate KPIs relevant to a narrowly defined set of decision makers. Optimizing the organization’s data for impact, efficiency, and security requires building data capabilities across entire organizations. And, for the design and implementation of future-fit, user-centric data cultures, existing data leaders need to have visibility into the data needs, opportunities, and liabilities experienced by a more diverse set of roles, users, and communities, underscoring the need for a more diverse and inclusive data workforce.

The Community of Practice will bring together up to 20 nonprofit organizations across disciplines and geographies, with two participants representing each organization: a senior data leader, who currently leads data functions at an organizational level, and an emerging data professional, who is working in a functional data role with their first leadership experience. These two participants will collaborate with each other and other community members to advance data strategies and solve concrete data challenges. Beyond in-kind contributions of training and expertise, the foundation will provide supplementary support to cover associated expenses of up to $20,000.

Once selected, the participants will identify common data priorities and challenges. This self-created agenda will inform the Community of Practice’s events and activities, including facilitated working groups, expert talks, and peer learning events. Participants are expected to attend one to two video calls per quarter and one to two in-person meetings over the two years.

For complete program guidelines and application instructions, see the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation website.

Deadline: September 30, 2022 (Expression of Interest)