Re-Envisioning the Role of "Big Data" in the Nonprofit Sector: A Data Feminist Perspective
Published In
Voluntas
Document Type
Citation
Publication Date
10-17-2022
Abstract
Use of big data in the nonprofit sector is on the rise as a part of a trend toward “data-driven” management. While big data has its critics, few have addressed fundamental ontological and epistemological issues big data presents for the nonprofit sector. In this article, we address some of these issues including most prominently the notion that big data are value neutral and divorced from context. Drawing on data feminism, an intersectional feminist framework focusing on critically interrogating our experience with data and data-driven technologies, we examine the power differentials inherent in the construction of big data and challenge the claims, priorities, and inequities it produces specifically for nonprofit work. We conclude the article with a call for nonprofit scholars and practitioners to employ a data feminist framework to harness the power of big (and small) data for justice, equity, and co-liberation through nonprofit work.
Rights
Copyright International Society for Third-Sector Research 2022
Locate the Document
DOI
10.1007/s11266-022-00529-9
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/38793
Citation Details
Sandberg, B., Hand, L.C. & Russo, A. Re-envisioning the Role of “Big Data” in the Nonprofit Sector: A Data Feminist Perspective. Voluntas (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11266-022-00529-9