Get ready for Baltimore Data Day

Friday is Data Day in Baltimore.
The annual conference, organized by the Baltimore Neighborhood Indicators Alliance, looks to help city leaders use more data, and use it better. The University of Baltimore’s William H. Thumel Sr. Business Center will play host.
Registration is closed, but here’s the full agenda.
In its sixth year, the conference comes amid renewed focus on data sets that groups like BNIA and the city’s Open Baltimore portal make available. In May, Seema Iyer told a crowd at SocEnt Breakfast how numerous news sources used the information to provide evidence of the issues behind the riots that followed Freddie Gray’s funeral. Thanks to a big check from famed alum Michael Bloomberg, Johns Hopkins University is also home to the newly formed Center for Government Excellence, which aims to help city governments nationwide use data more smartly.
Data Day actually begins Thursday (July 9) with a keynote session on Creative Placemaking, lead by Jason Schupach, director of design at the National Endowment for the Arts. The session begins at 3 p.m. at Baltimore’s Federal Reserve Branch (502 Sharp St.).
The conference is scheduled for Friday at the Thumel Business Center (11 W. Mt. Royal Ave.). Although Iyer tells us registration is already maxed out for the free conference, the morning session will be live-streamed starting at 9:15 a.m.
During that time, the organizers will hold an interactive vote about addressing the city’s data needs in which anyone can participate. Throughout the day, there will be workshops around topics like Arts & Culture, Civic Tech and neighborhood mapping.