Data Wonks is a Community of Practice (CoP) for members of the UW-Madison community who are interested in data and related technology. Through a variety of events, networking, and materials on this website we hope to help people access, process, interpret, and present data using a variety of tools and methods.
The information published here has been made possible by the kind and experienced members of the Data Wonks CoP. As a CoP, our goal is to learn from each other and have an opportunity to develop personally and professionally through the community. It is important to note that this is NOT a replacement for governance led activities, initiatives, policies, or training at UW-Madison. We encourage you to visit the Office of Data, Academic Planning, and Institutional Research and DoIT for official campus resources and information.
This site and related efforts are an attempt to rally community members while recruiting anyone seeking a network of resources relating to data and technology at UW-Madison. Click here to learn about how you can get involved.
Current Data Wonks Organizers
History
The Data Wonks began as the Ad Hoc Query Community of Practice (adhoccop) in 2015, with a primary focus on Ad Hoc queries to campus administrative databases. Since it began, this group fostered rewarding collaboration around data processing tools. During those early days in late 2015, these meetings were an incredible professional development and networking opportunity for individuals who work heavily with campus data and associated tools. In the summer of 2017, the group worked to redefine its purpose in the context of an ever changing data landscape. This period of reflection reaffirmed the need and interest in having a community of practice that focuses on shared data literacy while working to leverage available tools.
Ad hoc querying is still of paramount interest to the group. However, the CoP has a passion for technology and a more expansive approach to working with data than ad hoc querying alone. With this in mind, the members have decided to operate as the Data Wonks. A wonk is a studious and hard working person. This name is a more current representation of the breadth of interests and abilities held by the community. The change marked an effort to adapt to the evolving nature of working with data on campus. The community of practice hopes to capture the scope of excitement around data-driven decision making in this fast-paced technical environment.