Would you define that, please? 

I’m here at the 2023 Annual Conference of the Association for Public Data Users. While this group has been around for nearly half a century, I learned about them when they asked me to be the keynote speaker for their 2021 conference. It’s been nice to put names with faces for people I have interreacted with via email for years.

Standard Operating Definition

Many presenters emphasized that their organization’s mission is to make data and data analysis accessible to the public and policymakers.

But as I’ve listened to the presentations, a bias in language has caught my attention.
 

Many presentations discussed using data for racial equity. However, none of the presentations defined racial equity. Unless there is a standard definition that everyone understands, the approach to racial equity is flawed.  

I shared my concern with an attendee, who said each group is approaching racial equity within the context of the needs of their constituents and stakeholders.  

And that’s precisely what my Google search for a definition of racial equity showed—different definitions for each organization based on their mission.

Therefore, presenters must define racial equity so constituents and stakeholders know the outcome(s) they seek to achieve. Providing a working definition offers transparency and allows for accountability. 

Dorothy, from Kansas, did not bring Toto, but she acknowledged several definitions for health equity. She uses the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation definition:
 

“Health equity means that everyone has a fair and just opportunity to be as healthy as possible.”

Providing a working definition is not for consensus but for accountability and transparency.
  

The WISER Way

Reports that provide data by race, ethnicity, and sex have disaggregated the data. But these factors are not the only factors we want people to consider. So, I now provide WISER’s definition of disaggregated data:

“Data disaggregated by any characteristics believed to influence an outcome.”

The conference has been a reminder to provide assumptions and definitions.



What assumptions and definitions do you need to provide your clients, constituents, and stakeholders to offer more transparency and accountability?

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