#DataRescueIndy: Participant Action Research and Environmental Activism

By Fiona P. McDonald and Jason M. Kelly

March 2017

Forthcoming Publication

On January 19, 2017 in the IUPUI Library, Professor Jason M. Kelly and colleagues organized a Indianapolis-based effort to protect scientific data in the days leading up to the inauguration of the 45th president of the United States. This ethnography captures the dynamics of this event and documents collective action. The project continued as a shared effort across the US, with a second #DataRefugeIndy on March 8, 2017.

#DataRefugeIndy is part of the #DataRefuge consortium based at the University of Pennsylvania.  The #DataRefugeIndy team worked with their partner sites to generate awareness about and accessibility to federal climate and environmental data.

The mission of #DataRefuge is to identify, assess, prioritize, secure, and distribute reliable copies of federal climate and environmental data. Data collected as part of the #DataRefuge initiative will be stored in multiple, trusted locations to ensure continued accessibility. As part of the overall project, #DataRefuge is developing best methods, practices, and protocols for metadata, accessibility, and storage.

#DataRefuge depends on local communities and works in partnership with the Environmental Data Governance Initiative (EDGI), Climate Mirror, ProjectARCC, and with local collaborators at #ProtectClimateData and other #DataRescue events.