The GovLab at NYU Tandon invites global community to vote on ten transformative data questions related to gender

BROOKLYN, New York, Wednesday, May 6, 2020 – As part of efforts to identify priorities across sectors in which data and data science could make a difference, The Governance Lab (The GovLab) at the New York University Tandon School of Engineering has partnered with Data2X, the gender data alliance housed at the United Nations Foundation, to release ten pressing questions on gender that experts have determined can be answered using data. Members of the public are invited to share their views and vote to help develop a data agenda on gender.

The questions are part of the 100 Questions Initiative, an effort to identify the most important societal questions that can be answered by data. The project relies on an innovative process of sourcing “bilinguals,” individuals with both subject-matter and data expertise, who in this instance provided questions related to gender they considered to be urgent and answerable. The results span issues of labor, health, climate change, and gender-based violence.

Through the initiative’s new online platform, anyone can now vote on what they consider to be the most pressing, data-related questions about gender that researchers and institutions should prioritize. Through voting, the public can steer the conversation and determine which topics should be the subject of data collaboratives, an emerging form of collaboration that allows organizations from different sectors to exchange data to create public value.

The GovLab has conducted significant research on the value and practice of data collaboratives, and its research shows that inter-sectoral collaboration can both increase access to data as well as unleash the potential of that data to serve the public good.

Data2X supported the 100 Questions Initiative by providing expertise and connecting The GovLab with relevant communities, events, and resources. The initiative helped inform Data2X’s “Big Data, Big Impact? Towards Gender-Sensitive Data Systems” report, which identifies gaps of information on gender equality across key policy domains.

“Asking the right questions is a critical first step in fostering data production and encouraging data use to truly meet the unique experiences and needs of women and girls,” said Emily Courey Pryor, executive director of Data2X. “Obtaining public feedback is a crucial way to identify the most urgent questions — and to ultimately incentivize investment in gender data collection and use to find the answers.”

Said Stefaan Verhulst, co-founder and chief research and development officer at The GovLab, “Sourcing and prioritizing questions related to gender can inform resource and funding allocation to address gender data gaps and support projects with the greatest potential impact. This way, we can be confident about solutions that address the challenges facing women and girls.”

The 100 Questions Initiative was made possible with support from Schmidt Futures, Data2X, and the Bertelsmann Foundation. It is supported by a global advisory board comprising data science and subject matter experts from the public, corporate, and non-profit sectors. Members include Ciro Cattuto, scientific director of ISI Foundation; Gabriella Gómez-Mont, founder and former director at Laboratorio Para La Ciudad; Molly Jackman, strategy and research leader at Netflix; Vivienne Ming, founder of Socos Labs; Wilfred Ndifon, director of research at AIMS Global Network; Denice Ross, fellow at Georgetown University’s Beeck Center for Social Impact and Innovation; and Matthew Salganik, professor of sociology at Princeton University.

Anyone interested in collaborating is encouraged to send an email to contact@the100questions.org. For more information about the 100 Questions Initiative, visit www.the100questions.org or contact Stefaan Verhulst, lead of the initiative, at sverhulst@thegovlab.org.

About the New York University Tandon School of Engineering

The NYU Tandon School of Engineering dates to 1854, the founding date for both the New York University School of Civil Engineering and Architecture and the Brooklyn Collegiate and Polytechnic Institute (widely known as Brooklyn Poly). A January 2014 merger created a comprehensive school of education and research in engineering and applied sciences, rooted in a tradition of invention and entrepreneurship and dedicated to furthering technology in service to society. In addition to its main location in Brooklyn, NYU Tandon collaborates with other schools within NYU, one of the country’s foremost private research universities, and is closely connected to engineering programs at NYU Abu Dhabi and NYU Shanghai. It operates Future Labs focused on start-up businesses in downtown Manhattan and Brooklyn and an award-winning online graduate program. For more information, visit engineering.nyu.edu.

About the 100 Questions Initiative

The 100 Questions Initiative is presented by The Governance Lab at the NYU Tandon School of Engineering with initial funding support from Schmitt Futures. It is supported by a global advisory board comprising data science and subject matter experts from the public, corporate, and non-profit sectors. Members include Ciro Cattuto, scientific director of ISI Foundation; Gabriella Gómez-Mont, founder and former director at Laboratorio Para La Ciudad; Molly Jackman, leader of Content-Product Data Science and Engineering at Netflix; Vivienne Ming, founder of Socos Labs; Wilfred Ndifon, director of research at AIMS Global Network; Denice Ross, fellow at Georgetown University’s Beeck Center for Social Impact and Innovation; and Matthew Salganik, professor of sociology at Princeton University. For more information, visit the100questions.org.

About The Governance Lab at the NYU Tandon School of Engineering

The Governance Lab's mission is to improve people's lives by changing the way we govern. Our goal at The GovLab is to strengthen the ability of institutions — including but not limited to governments — and people to work more openly, collaboratively, effectively, and legitimately to make better decisions and solve public problems. We believe that increased availability and use of data, new ways to leverage the capacity, intelligence, and expertise of people in the problem-solving process, combined with new advances in technology and science, can transform governance. We approach each challenge and opportunity in an interdisciplinary, collaborative way, irrespective of the problem, sector, geography, and level of government. For more information, visit thegovlab.org.

About Data2X

Data2X is a technical and advocacy platform dedicated to improving the quality, availability, and use of gender data in order to make a practical difference in the lives of women and girls worldwide. Working in partnership with multilateral agencies, governments, civil society, academics, and the private sector, Data2X mobilizes action for and strengthens production and use of gender data.