ZERO IS A DATA POINT
Alternate title - Effectively making something out of nothing*
I was recently invited to facilitate a ½ day workshop on policy, strategy and inclusive stakeholder engagement based on the lessons on my career as a policy, research and evaluation practitioner. It was a wonderful #ProfessionalDevelopment session for a team of dedicated staff.
Interspersed with some tools and fundamentals (definitions, models, etc.), we shared stories of common sticking points we have faced in doing our work well.
The afternoon’s discussions were centred on our unique and shared experiences navigating the world of expectations management in our work and community relationships. As part of my presentation, I shared a slide on data and what data we use to make our case(s). I also included this visual from Steal like an artist by Austin Kleon.
This led to a question on what to do in situations with no data. Specifically I was asked: “what do you do when writing up a business case and doing your analysis but there is no data?” To which I said (with the confidence of someone who has faced this question in my own work many times) that “zero is a data point”. I’d like to claim the phrase “zero is a data point” as my own, but actually I first read it in this article in which the specific quote is “0 is a data point in itself,” and decided to borrow it for my own use just as Austin Kleon’s suggested I do ;-) .
I had forgotten about that statement (and other gems from the ½ day session) as life rolled along until a few moments ago when a participant called me to thank me for that statement and to share how they had used it in a meeting very recently.
She talked about how a discussion seemed to be going in circles over the lack of data and she referenced the workshop she attended where I’d said that zero is a data point. Making that statement created a relief and freedom for the group to consider how they might address the missing information situation rather than continue to spin or worse, come to a halt in discussion and planning. I thanked her for her circling back to me and let her know it’d be the basis of my second article.
Recognizing zero, or the absence of data on a specific phenomenon, can be very positive. A ‘very good place to start’*~ and perhaps an aid to shift from inertia to taking steps; the first of which could be the determination of what data is needed and how it might be collected and within what time frame.
*I write that in jest as it is often the case that finding/having “nothing” just really means we need(ed) to look elsewhere or differently (i.e. with an alternate lens). Indeed, this article talks a bit about how we can ensure that as we begin to collect data we understand it to be perhaps more nuanced than we might at first consider.
*~ "Do-Re-Mi" a popular show tune from the 1959 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The Sound of Music.
About the Author
Louise Adongo, has irrepressible curiosity and a keen interest in supporting communities to better themselves. Unafraid to try new things, or do old things differently, Louise has worked on projects with many teams in several sectors in Nova Scotia and different parts of Africa. An avid reader, traveler and gardener with multidisciplinary interests, Louise founded Caprivian Strip Inc. consultancy, to provide advice and support to agencies seeking to sustain their client services.