5 Strategies for Building a Culture of Data Literacy

apixelstudio/Shutterstock.com

Getting agency buy-in to a culture of data literacy means getting everyone at every level to appreciate the value of data.

The Federal Data Strategy requires federal agencies to cultivate a culture of data literacy. The more data-literate an organization, the more value that organization will derive from its data, the more it will change in positive ways and provide real results for taxpayers.

But what is data literacy? Just as traditional literacy is more than reading letters and words, data literacy entails more than just looking at random pieces of information. It is knowing how to interpret and use the information and understanding why that is important for society as a whole. 

Cultural shifts, however, are often hard for federal organizations to adopt. Technology implementations can be simple by comparison because they don’t challenge established roles, goals and ways of thinking. Some people see any change to the status quo as a threat, even if the potential upsides for them and their missions are huge.

Getting agency buy-in to a culture of data literacy means getting everyone at every level to appreciate the value of data for their daily operations and their agency’s mission. It’s building trust in data tools and their results, and increasing the comfort people have using those tools and data in general. Without that trust and comfort, investing in data tools and technology is a waste of time, money and effort. Agencies looking to increase their data literacy should explore these five proven strategies: 

1. Build a community and recruit champions.

The first step toward instilling a culture of data literacy is building a community interested in using data to identify problems and design solutions to address them. These pioneers can include data scientists but also people who can think critically and strategically about data. This core group leverages the organization’s data, people, processes and projects; has relationships and partnerships inside and outside the agency; and possesses an innovative spirit and dedication to the agency’s mission. 

This core group also recruits internal and external champions from the top down and the bottom up because buy-in from governmentwide and agency leadership, as well as grassroots backing at senior, middle and junior levels is critical to successful adoption. Some of the most effective champions are ex-critics who overcame their skepticism after seeing proof of the value of data literacy.

2. Use tailored language and examples.

Policy, business and technology units within the same agency all speak different dialects, and what is clear to one group may be incomprehensible or misconstrued by another. Translate among units to build a common vision of how data literacy can advance the whole organization. When community building, establish and socialize shared vocabulary, priorities, challenges and incentives so everyone recognizes as quickly as possible how data literacy can benefit them. 

3. Listen to your people and data. 

Be willing to question your preconceptions about your agency’s data and how its people are and should be using it. Be open to learning the good, the bad and the ugly and acting on each accordingly. If your people feel that they are being heard and that the data actually leads to real change the trust and comfort of everyone using data systems will increase. 

4. Quantify the mission impact. 

If you can’t measure something, you can’t change it. Quantifiable performance metrics are essential to ingraining data literacy into your organizational culture. People will work toward what they’re graded on, so incorporate realistic, actionable requirements that encourage meaningful work and results. 

5. Encourage experimental projects. 

Lasting cultural change requires concrete examples of success to inspire people to embrace that culture. Tap your data leaders to see which mission-critical needs could benefit from innovative projects that leverage your agency’s data literacy. 

At the Environmental Protection Agency, for example, its data-literate community helped fight the water-pollution crisis in Flint, Michigan by developing an app to analyze the chemistry of water samples and track the degradation in quality over time. The app played a crucial role in quickly improving water quality and safety for Flint residents. 

The success of this project and others throughout the federal government underscores how data literacy—and the systems, trust and comfort that support it—are worthwhile investments now and in the future.  

Andrew Churchill is vice president of federal sales at Qlik. 

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.