In November 2024, we hosted an event to showcase the role of data empowerment in tackling some of the world’s most pressing challenges.
What is data empowerment?
We generally have limited opportunities to participate in the systems of data collection, use and sharing that shape our lives.
If people are not able to shape data systems, there is a risk of creating deep mistrust. This mistrust could limit the potential of data – and the different technologies it powers – to be applied to the big challenges of our time.
Data empowerment gives people more say over data, through greater individual agency or community control. There is an urgent need for more experimentation and understanding of data empowerment to unearth approaches that put people at the centre of decisions about data.
About the Data Empowerment Fund
The Data Empowerment Fund supports a diverse set of initiatives that enable greater individual agency or community control over data.
Powered by the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation and Omidyar Network, the Data Empowerment Fund is designed to address the lack of opportunities for people to participate in the systems of data collection, use and sharing that shape their lives.
Located across the globe, the initiatives supported by the Data Empowerment Fund address some of the world’s most pressing challenges – including ensuring fair work, tackling the climate crisis and governing artificial intelligence.
If you’d like to learn more about the fund, get in touch with Jack Hardinges, Fund Lead at [email protected].
