Community Data Playbook

In response to climate and environmental injustices, communities around the world are collecting and using environmental data to strengthen awareness, engagement, advocacy, or research. There are myriad examples of community organizations utilizing environmental data in generative and innovative ways, spanning the gamut of environmental challenges. 

Yet in doing this work, communities often face barriers in using data to its fullest extent, including:

• Technical solutions that are cost-prohibitive or unsuited to social context and need

• Heightened risk of the misuse of sensitive information and lack of legal protection

• Complex local, regional, and federal laws and policies within dense legal landscapes

To unlock the potential benefits of community-generated environmental data, better data governance approaches are needed. With the Community Data Playbook—and through accessible exploration of the governance methods that can make data collection, sharing, and use more attainable for environmental data stewards of all levels of expertise—we aim to reduce the barrier to entry of having these conversations and doing this critical work. 

The Community Data Playbook is a compilation of case studies and strategies related to environmental data governance. The case studies document our partnership with three communities that are collecting environmental data, each situated in a distinct social and environmental context, and conducted workshops to identify and co-design governance solutions. From the partnerships, we developed “plays,” or modular strategies and opportunities that data stewards can use to employ better data governance. These plays demonstrate how networked data streams can preserve important local values while enabling timely, relevant, and trustworthy decision-making—both by and with community members.

Ultimately, our hope with this playbook is that we provide ample space for learning and exploration of the current and future landscape of environmental data governance.