Series - Editorial Fellowship: digital transformation and technology for social impact

The City of Montreal is establishing data partnerships with community organizations - are they ready?

Author Sharlene Gandhi
Open North, a Montreal-based non-profit dedicated to digital strategy and data governance, is helping the City develop a data governance framework. The framework enables non-profits and community organizations in the city to collect, analyze and share data while still respecting the data rights of residents.

Why It Matters

Data sharing and interoperability can provide a more robust view of a community and specific wellness / prosperity indicators. However, it also risks breaching the privacy and trust of community members who have not consented to having their data used this way. Data governance frameworks ensure that all organizations collecting and sharing data between them are doing so with the common good in mind.

Note: The interview with the City of Montreal took place in French, and quotes are translated into English.

Correction: An earlier version of this piece pointed to a project that was initially part of the Montreal en Commun program, but has since not materialised. Future of Good has removed the reference. 

Despite millions of dollars ready to be used, most non-profits in Montreal aren’t prepared to partner with the city and other groups to easily share data, says a digital strategy organization. 

For a lot of non-profit and community organizations, building robust data governance processes isn’t a priority yet, says Lauriane Gorce, program manager at Open North, a Montreal-based non-profit dedicated to digital strategy and data governance. 

“It’s not enough just to

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