About the Better Deal for DataTM
Data is critical to social impact. Yet data in the social sector is often locked in silos, leading to a fragmented understanding of complex systems. Many nonprofits collect data from vulnerable people about that which makes them vulnerable – sensitive data which should not be made open. And individuals and communities have lost trust in how their data is being used, creating barriers to data collection.
Better Deal for Data seeks to change this.
It is the newest project from Tech Matters, a U.S. 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization which applies technology to social good by developing open source software and supporting the nonprofit sector with tech-related content. When asked by a prospective donor to help increase their community’s trust in data collection, our team set out to research the issues. We found that the sector lacks a lightweight, consensus-driven approach to data governance which could be easily adopted by the typical nonprofit organization.
Inspired by the Creative Commons and Open Source licensing models, we build upon considerable work that has been done by data experts around the world, advancing causes such as ethical data stewardship, improved data governance, and responsible use of data in AI and other frontier technologies.
In early 2024, the BD4D Commitments were initially proposed as a set of eight, easy-to-understand promises that could be adapted for use as a lightweight terms of service or data sharing agreement. After an eighteen-month process of community discussion and review, the Commitments were refined into the current seven.
Our goal in developing the full BD4D Standard and Playbook is to co-create a clear, trustworthy, standard that brings accountability to organizations holding sensitive data, and provide practical tools to support the Standard’s adoption. With broad adoption, data aligned with the Better Deal will become sharable across socially responsible organizations everywhere – unlocking the data’s potential for societal benefit.
Project Timeline
Coalition of the Willing
Bringing about much wider use of data for the benefit of all of humanity will take more than critical guardrails and enforceable promises to use that data ethically and responsibly. It will take a movement of individuals and organizations committed to unlocking the full potential of data to serve society, and doing so in practice.
We are convening a Coalition of the Willing that supports this vision – if that’s you, please join us!
We’d like to acknowledge and thank the following endorsers for their support of this movement:
Abby Lupi
Abby Ross
Afua Bruce
Amy Sample Ward, NTEN
Ana Sofia Castellanos
Anastasia Shuster
Astrid Scholz, Armillaria
Beth Kanter
Camille Acey
Dan Viederman, Working Capital Fund
David Geilhufe
Donald Lobo
Ed Marcum, Working Capital Fund
Elif Nisa Polat
Emambou Ulrich
Francesca Bosco
Greg Lipstein
Heena Singhal
Heidi Quicksilver, Computer History Museum
Hope Rollins
Jack Ivers
Jim Hornthal, Launchpad Central
John Wilbanks
Junious Williams
Karl Bond, Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregivers
Ke Wang, Ph.D., The Carter Center for Caregivers
Dr. Kelsey Jensen, The Soil Inventory Project
Kevin Barenblat, Fast Forward
Kristal Lynn Jones
Kristin Wolff
LaGrand Elliott
Laura Gilmer
Mari Tamburo
Martin Burt
Martin Lukac, Nexleaf Analytics
Matthew Gee
Mayank Bhushan
Michal Szwarc
Natalie Shoup
Nate Angell, Nudgital
Nick Gilla
Patrick Diamond
Paul Sznewajs
Philip Forbah Forboseh
Rachel Wells
Robert On, The Agency Fund
Rodrigo Camarena
Rudo Kemper
Stuart Buck
Syarif Hamdi
Thomas (Tim) Miller, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science
Tibet Sprague, Terran Collective
Zak Kaufman, MSc PhD, Vera Solutions
Zeddy Misiga
Supporters and Funders
We have learned from, and been encouraged by, many, many thought leaders in the data and tech for good fields as we develop the Better Deal for Data. We particularly want to acknowledge the financial support of the following funders:Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research
The Patrick J. McGovern Foundation
Okta for Good
OpenTEAM (with support from USDA)
Schmidt Futures
The Skoll Foundation
Splunk