Carry out initial research and engagement

It is important to conduct research and assess user needs to understand how improving access to data can help tackle the problem. We advise that you do this even if you know the area very well to ensure your research is as up to date as possible and relevant to the specific context. The key things to look out for are:

• evidence of the scale of the problem

• key terms and definitions

• data infrastructure already implemented (for example, standards, data portals, and APIs)

• evidence and key blockers (ie reasons why this problem isn’t already being solved)

• key stakeholders and experts in the field.

You can start by reading the key research and relevant white papers and reports you can find online which discuss the topic. To find such information, you might want to start with:

• reports and evidence from the public sector, academia and civil society groups

• open data portals or national statistics websites to start identifying data assets

• academic literature in the relevant domain to look for datasets being published or cited

• government and regulator websites for latest policies.

We also recommend defining research topics to identify stakeholders and user needs. It is critical that you understand the demands of users, groups and communities affected by the problem your initiative is designed to solve. To be impactful, your problem statement should acknowledge that your efforts will be part of a wider ecosystem working towards the challenge, and should be underpinned by researching a diversity of voices, people and organisations working within the ecosystem and disciplines. You may start by engaging with local networks and civil society organisations working in the field.

To engage with stakeholders and understand their needs we recommend reviewing the following activities:

• Designing personas to understand particular needs, pain points, motivations and goals.

• Researching data literacy assessments and skills, or any particular aspect that might affect these groups in using data.

• Understanding the best ways of collecting feedback and consent (especially when collecting personal data) from communities.

• Using design fiction to imagine future scenarios to help think beyond what is possible right now, and to visualise different future worlds and services that could be made possible through improved data access.

Once you have completed this review, reflect on the information you have gathered and try, if possible, to revise and refine the problem statement to be addressed through improving access to data. Other plays in this playbook focus on specific areas of research, such as stakeholders, policies and data infrastructure. Those sections refer to deeper dives into the topic area, and do not preclude you doing initial research on the topic.