The Research for Social Change Lab at Trent University has spent the last couple years learning about the data and data practices used in Ontario’s Youth Homelessness and Child Welfare sectors. We have interviewed over 100 workers to find out how they use data to support the services they offer and to improve client outcomes. Although we heard a lot of promising reflections on the value of data-driven social work, our research participants also told us about the significant frustrations and struggles they encounter.
We wanted to find an engaging way to feed our findings back to our participants and to the larger communities of which they are part. We have therefore been putting together zines that compile what we’ve learned in accessible ways. We started in the fall of 2023 with “Data Justice: What? Why? Where?” In this first zine, we laid out our mission: to cut through the techno-babble and bureau-speak and share how workers describe experiencing the data systems and processes involved in their everyday service delivery work.
Our second zine, “Data for Who? Data for What?” explores how existing data practices in Ontario’s youth-serving systems prioritize compliance monitoring and reporting over enhancing service delivery and outcomes for young people. While many people are increasingly interested in digital tools that might improve service delivery, the ideas we present in this zine suggest a need for rethinking digital data practices to align more with client-centred improvements.
Our third zine, “More Than Just A Name,” continues our discussion, emphasizing the limitations of relying solely on data to understand people’s experiences. It explores how standardized data tools can shape workers’ perceptions of the young people they serve and considers the value and challenge of frontline workers using their subjective agency when navigating these tools.
Finally, our fourth and final zine, “Data Dreams and Desires,” was just released this summer. It presents an edited series of data poems drawn out of the interview excerpts we gathered throughout this project. We would like to extend a warm thank you to our participants for sharing generously about themselves and their work. Seeing patterns in our interviewees’ data desires made it clear that the issues behind workers’ frustrations are systemic and cannot be overcome by individuals on their own. We hope that by sharing their hopes here, we can advocate for changes together.
Here are links to our zines:
- Zine 1: Data Justice: What? Why? Where?
- Zine 2: Data Justice: Data for Who? Data for What?
- Zine 3: Data Justice: More Than Just A Name
- Zine 4: Data Justice: Data Dreams and Desires
As you go through our zines, we encourage you to reflect on the following questions:
- What stood out to you while going through the zines? What did you notice?
- What frustrations or successes explored in this zine series reflect your own experiences? What are some aspects of your work that are not represented in these zines?
- What changes or reforms would help you complete your everyday data work more easily? How could these changes affect clients and improve outcomes?
- What other concerns might be productive areas for future research?
As you think through these questions, feel free to get in touch with us at the Research for Social Change Lab: https://www.socialchangelab.ca/
We are always looking to deepen our relationships with the community whose work and ideas ground our research, so please share your feedback with us. Also, if you’d be interested in having hard copies of our zines printed and sent to you, don’t hesitate to reach out!