/ Sociodemographic data and data justice

City of Toronto Black Community Data Governance Implementation Plan

• Jemal Demeke and Tiyondah Fante-Coleman
A smiling Black man, and a smiling Black woman, standing in an office environment, looking together at a tablet screen.

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Download the Executive Report

Background

Data is a tool that can shape the trajectory of community well-being, improve health outcomes and drive innovation. It can also be used to further marginalize and oppress. Given data’s ability to impact understanding, drive priorities and define social phenomena, the importance of community-driven data governance initiatives cannot be understated.

In 2020, Toronto’s City Council approved a Data for Equity Strategy to use disaggregated race-based data to better understand marginalized populations. Recognizing the need for communities to be directly involved in managing their data, the City of Toronto partnered with Wellesley Institute and Black Health Alliance to create a Black Community Data Governance Framework to ensure data is collected, managed and used ethically and effectively.

The framework’s development included a literature review, internal staff consultations and guidance from an advisory group of community experts. Completed in 2023 and published in 2024, the framework led to renewed City efforts to develop an implementation plan that would operationalize it.

This Black Community Data Governance Implementation Plan is the result of that effort. It is a comprehensive, multi-part guide to the development and integration of Black data governance practices at the City of Toronto.

Plan components

This City of Toronto Black Community Data Governance Implementation Plan consists of four documents:

  • an Executive Report
  • a Consultation Report
  • an Implementation Roadmap
  • a Preliminary Model

Reflections

This implementation plan is an important initiative for the City of Toronto and has the potential to define it as a national leader in Black data governance for other municipalities and government bodies.

The foundational decisions and actions taken now have the potential to impact the lives of Black residents in Toronto for generations.  

Acknowledgments

The researchers are profoundly grateful to the members of the Black Data Advisory Circle and the focus group participants who provided honest perspectives to help shape the framework that was the foundation for this implementation plan.

Executive ReportDownload the Executive Report
Consultation ReportDownload the Consultation Report
Implementation RoadmapDownload the Implementation Roadmap
A Preliminary ModelDownload A Preliminary Model
Jemal Demeke

Jemal Demeke

Jemal Demeke is a researcher at Wellesley Institute. He has consistently used his community organizing experience to inform his public health research approaches. His research spans infectious disease epidemiology, implementation science, and equitable health interventions. African, Caribbean and Black communities have a continued presence in his professional focus. He has founded equity initiatives in large organizations, led workshops for healthcare providers, and built relationships between community stakeholders and health agencies. His work at Wellesley Institute leverages these experiences to inform policy change for racialized communities across Canada.

Tiyondah Fante-Coleman

Tiyondah Fante-Coleman

Tiyondah Fante-Coleman is the Manager, Research and Policy at Black Health Alliance. She holds an MA in Community Psychology from Wilfrid Laurier University, and is currently a PhD candidate in Public Health, Social and Behavioural Health Sciences at the University of Toronto.