Data Justice: Statewide Needs Assessment

Our community-led research is translational and transformative

Since 2021, The Marie Equi Center and Pride Northwest, Inc. have been hosting an ongoing, community-led, statewide data justice project, “LGBTQIA2S+ Community Based Organizations in Oregon”. For this project, we utilized Community Based Participatory Research Methods which is a long way to say: we built this project with and included community members during every stage of the data cycle. From outreach to data collection, from analysis and interpretation to data mobilization, we have created opportunities for the most marginalized among us to lead and participate in the work. 

Timeline

2021: We began with an extensive ecosystem mapping and relationship-building phase, identifying and reaching out to organizations and groups in the LGBTQIA2S+ resourcing, advocacy, and support field. The intent of our targeted outreach was to build a strong and broad grassroots base of organizers.

2021 - Present: Our ongoing relationship-building phase naturally became a capacity-building initiative. Throughout this data project, Equi’s Outreach and Capacity Building Manager has met with LGBTQIA2S+ CBO leaders across the state, offering support in topics such as grant-writing, conflict resolution, and coalition building. You can learn more about the impact of this work here

2022 - 2024: We assembled and facilitated the Community Guidance Council (CGC), a diverse group of 13 LGBTQIA2S+ community members who provided ongoing guidance, direction, and accountability for the project. The CGC aided in setting direction of the project and ensured that this direction was reflective of the community. The values in assembling and facilitating this group were respect, transparency, equity, informed consent, and reciprocity. Of note, we executed a tailored outreach campaign to recruit for the CGC, prioritizing diversity in terms of race, ethnicity, tribal affiliation, geography, gender, sexuality, and disability, as well as diverse lived experience such as incarceration, immigration/asylum, sex work, poverty, homelessness, etc. 

August 2023 - March 2024: Data collection! Together with the Community Guidance Council, we drafted a Needs Assessment survey with three sections and interrelated goals:

• (1) Resource mapping. To create greater accessibility and interconnectedness of LGBTQIA2S+ community groups and organizations as well as identify gaps in resources.

• (2) Community Based Organization “Health Check”. To paint a picture of organizational strengths, needs, opportunities, and challenges

• (3) Exploration of data priorities. To seek input on the types of information and data that should be collected and the best ways to intentionally and equitably reach folks in their communities.

• To accommodate the diversity of LGBTQAI2S+ CBOs in terms of structure, formality, and purpose, we designed three different versions of the survey: one for more formalized groups, another for less formalized groups, and a third for groups that didn’t quite exist yet and were in the early stages of visioning. 

• We also developed a unique consent model! Because there were three different sections of the survey each with different but related aims, we did not ask for blanket consent. Instead we had three corresponding consent questions, so respondents had the opportunity to specify how they’d like us to use their information for a given section’s purpose. We also had tiered consent, so respondents could select public, confidential, or do not use. We got the following feedback: “I LOVE the consent model on it, btw!!! So thoughtful!!! <3” - Northeastern Oregon-based CBO

With a response rate of 68%, we heard from 45 CBOs representing 97% of Oregon’s counties.

December 2023 - December 2024: Creating and implementing a Community Meaning Making Process

• As a community-led data justice project, it was vital for us to create a foundation for collective meaning-making and data interpretation. 

• During each stage of the data cycle, we hosted workshops to ensure a shared understanding of methods. We also had Community Guidance Council members do "resonance checks” on preliminary coding and analyses carried out by Equi. Then, we facilitated a series of meaning-making discussions as a group exploring questions like: What stood out? What was interesting? What are you curious to learn more about? What is most actionable? What was most surprising? What is missing? What would you want to share with a friend? From those conversations, we pulled thematic threads and came away with our findings and recommendations.

2024 - Present: Data mobilization

• We are currently in our Data Mobilization phase. Our Advocacy Plan is iterative. We started by identifying our key audiences: LGBTQIA2S+ Community Based Organizations, Oregon Health Authority, Coordinated Care Organizations, Oregon Dept. of Education, Public Health Depts, Regional Health Equity Coalitions, Legislators, Private Funders, and Press. From there, we have identified existing allies or champions within those fields, and started by presenting our findings and recommendations to their respective teams or units. We are now leveraging their expertise to guide our future advocacy efforts in each field.

• Community Data Stewardship: We want community members to feel confident mobilizing our data in ways that suit their specific needs. We did not gather data to type up and gather dust on a shelf. We did so to inform external advocacy, internal development, and statewide field-building efforts. 

December 2025: We were awarded a two-year grant from the Meyer Memorial Foundation with the purpose to open up capacity for LGBTQIA2S+ CBO leaders across the state to deepen community engagement work and come together to strategize as a field. You can learn more about this opportunity here.