As part of its Data Assembly initiative, The GovLab hosted a virtual town hall to present its findings and recommendations on data re-use for COVID-19. The event—a recording of which can be viewed online—featured a panel of experts and leaders, including Luce Foundation president Mariko Silver, discussing opportunities for data re-use in responding to crises and strategies for ensuring that re-use of personal data is aligned with people’s expectations and societal values.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had enormous social, political, cultural, and human costs. A variety of solutions — from increased testing capacity to social and economic support measures — have been deployed in recent months. Yet, the situation still stands to be improved and can be through the expanded use of data.

Effective and responsible data re-use can help policymakers and practitioners provide relief to those affected by the pandemic. The GovLab has identified over 300 data re-use projects addressing various dimensions of the ongoing crisis. However, there is still significant work to be done in order to maximize its value for addressing emerging issues. In March 2020, The GovLab shared A Call For Action to make data collaboration more systematic, sustainable, and responsible in light of COVID-19.

With support from The Henry Luce Foundation, The GovLab launched The Data Assembly to pioneer a new methodology re-imagining how we engage society in creating ideas for data re-use. The Data Assembly aims to collect and synthesize actionable, diverse, public input to identify concerns, expectations, and opportunities in data-driven response to COVID-19. More importantly, it aims to identify the necessary conditions and procedures to enable responsible re-use for crisis response now and in the future.

Read the full article