How Data Gaps Feed Inequity

As state and local agencies invest time and money to create data-driven government, incomplete data may set solutions up for failure.

For instance, inequitable distribution of data collection efforts will produce inaccurate data such as when a city deploys air quality sensors in limited areas. The devices could inaccurately identify the air quality as healthier than it really is because only parts of the environment were assessed, said Gillian Diebold, policy analyst at the Center for Data Innovation.

“When groups are left out—or overcompensated for—in datasets, that’s going to create false narratives,” she said. As a result, efforts to improve the air quality may not factor in a community’s complete needs because some places were unaccounted for.