Data and Advocacy

Data and Advocacy

By Mia Loseff, Benji Vergil, and Eli Barrish

Lesson Objectives

• Learners will understand the utility of data in advocacy messaging
• Learners will understand how to correctly access and use data
• Learners will be able to apply their knowledge to their work

• Brings legitimacy into our stories when sharing with outside groups
• Trusted, hard to argue

Why Is Data Important?

Why Is Data Important?

It can direct where outreach is focused, and where to target an advocacy campaign.

Why Is Data Important?

• Tracks what is currently happening as a road map to what may happen next
• Provides historical context to learn from

Disclaimer: Data Can Be Manipulated!

Data Can Enhance Your Projects

• Illustrate increasing or decreasing trends
• Convince a policymaker to see things in a new light
• Publish a report that is picked up by reporters
• It’s important to understand the problem, causes, and impacts in order to make sense of the data

Quantitative vs. Qualitative

• Quantitative - Structured measurements, usually numbers.
• Example: budget analysis
• Qualitative - Properties, attributes, descriptions, language.
• Example: Interviewing a group of folks about their real-life experiences
• “Data Mindset” - Approaching a complex problem by searching for the best-available evidence

Quantitative vs. Qualitative Data Continued

(Source: Adapted from Minchiello et al. 1990, p5.)

Case Studies

Data in Practice

Eviction Crisis in San Antonio

Goal: connect tenants with a high risk of eviction to resources that can help them.

Eviction Crisis in San antonio

• Plaintiff [landlord or filing company]
• Tenant
• Address
• Case result

Data Use: Apartment Complexes With High Eviction Rates

Data Use: Which Landlord Is The Highest Evictor

Which District Had The Most Evictions

Eviction Crisis in SA

… mapping where to doorknock.

HUD Scores

• Coalition for Tenant Justice is an org fighting for better living conditions at their SAHA homes
• They used first-hand stories + images in mass to communicate
• Data has improved their campaign’s impact on others

Demolition Moratorium within Chicago

Demolition Moratorium within San Antonio

• Pay attention to:
• Why Teri thinks the data they collected was important for their cause
• How they used the data to change people's minds
• What Teri advises caution about while looking for data

Data Sources and Tools

Sources of Data

• US Census Tract and Block Group Data

• Texas State Low Income Housing Plan and Report

• TDHCA Rent Levels and Incomes

• NLIHC “The Gap Report”

• NLIHC “Out of Reach Report”

• CAPER (Local Government Expense Report of HUD funds)

• Public Housing Authority 1 and 5 year plans

• Capital Improvement Plan City Budget

• ESRI Popular Demographics

• "Public Information Requests" Lesson

Data Sources: GIS

• GIS =Geographical Information Systems
• Common types of data you can input into GIS:
• .csv
• .shp
• .json

• A lot of city websites have a GIS department that provides files you need as your “layer”

• Check out the City of San Antonio’s GIS website for more ideas on what cities collect

• There are many free online tutorials to get you started

Partnerships

• Build relationships with administrators, public officials, advocacy organizations, tenant groups, and other stakeholders
• Exchange contact information
• Figure out if there’s something you can offer them
• Keep up the relationships
• Don’t be shy about asking for help

Public Information Requests

• Figure out what kind of data the agency will have on hand
• Be specific about the “ask” and the format
• Refer back to the course on Public Information Requests

Data and Narrative

Dangers of Data

• Overgeneralizations
• Loaded survey questions

Dangers of Data

• Taken out of context/ignoring context
• Cherry-picking
• Biased samples
• Large margin of error

Data and Narrative

• Phrase data so it makes the most impact for your story:

• District 8 in San Antonio: 3.94% of renters walk to work vs 0.41% of homeowners.
• Or…Renters are NINE TIMES more likely to walk to work!

• Bring data into the narrative where it backs up your testimony
• Use data as it benefits YOU

Data and Narrative

Summary

• Data can be used for insight, but it can also be manipulated
• Building relationships can help you get access to data that is otherwise inaccessible
• The data you utilize for a campaign or project should align with your recommendations