DEFINING THE NEED FOR A CANADIAN BLACK DATA PORTAL (CBDP)—A CRITICAL COMPONENT FOR A BLACK EMPOWERMENT FUTURE

Introduction

This article underscores the crucial role of a Canadian Black Data Portal (CBDP) in the context of Black empowerment. To comprehend this argument, let us start by defining the term “data.” Data is unquestionably one of the world’s most valuable resources, particularly in our postmodern era, undergirded by the AI (Artificial Intelligence) revolution.

“Big data” refers to the enormous amount of information generated and collected daily. Which is then processed and analyzed using the algorithmic power of AI systems to generate insights, forecast trends, and derive solutions to complex problems.

The Power of Data in the Digital Era

In today’s world, global industrial complexes search for and compete for the skills of research, data analysts, and scientists. Why? Because data is the fuel that powers the massive digital transformation force undergirded by the Fourth and Fifth Industrial Revolutions (4IR and 5IR, respectively).[1] But what exactly is data? Is it the same as information or knowledge? DATA is the raw or primary ingredient of the information-disseminating process. Statisticians, data analysts, and scientists, as key players in data analysis, use common base data to organize or manipulate it into information.

Data’s power is in its discrete alphanumeric characteristics. It is the raw material that, when transformed into INFORMATION, becomes a crucial part of decision-making. Corporations use information to deliver a message, enhance understanding of the data, and engender desired outcomes. Conversely, KNOWLEDGE is the result of our understanding of this information.

 “Big Data involves massive data volumes and diverse data types. Modern organizations need people who can help implement the tools they need to deal with these huge data sets.”
─ University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada[2]

Why a Canadian Black Data Portal?

The intersection of AI and business is a global phenomenon, much like the revolutions of the past, such as the printing press, steam engine, telephone, and electricity. AI, driven by “big data,” is set to transform business, government, society, and individual lives. In this context, the Canadian Black Data Portal is not just a tool, but a pressing necessity for Black empowerment, underscoring its urgency and significance.

Data management professionals who support executives in the private and public sectors play a pivotal role in data transformation. They are instrumental in gathering, populating, analyzing, mapping, validating, and disseminating data as a function of policy directives. Their efforts ultimately transform data into viable information, informing the public of patterns and trends to identify and forecast potential problems, current and future.

COLLECTING DATA VERSUS BLACK DATA

The widespread use of personal computers and mobile devices has revolutionized data collection, making it more efficient and accessible. This digital era enables analysts to gather mass data and respond quickly to queries that once required lengthy, in-person interviews. However, this convenience has its challenges. The rapid pace of data collection in our digital age not only brings efficiency but also underscores the concerns about personal data security.  The growth of the cybersecurity industry, which plays a crucial role in safeguarding privacy, clearly indicates the escalating concern about protecting people’s data in the diversity of digital forms and platforms.

The Canadian Medical Journal (CMJ) asks:

“Who is Black? For instance, in a recent research evaluating the health of Black people in Canada, many terms have been used to define who is Black. These include Black individuals, people or communities, Black Canadians, African-Canadians, African, Caribbean, Black Africans, African-Caribbean or African and Caribbean communities, African Caribbean and Black, or African, Caribbean and Black, African Nova Scotians, Black Nova Scotians, Individuals or people of African Descent and Black ethnicity.”[3]

The participation of the Black community in surveys is integral to gaining a comprehensive understanding of their political, social, and economic ecosystem in the Canadian Diaspora and globally. However, many individuals are reticent to share personal, family, social, financial, and business information in public opinion surveys—a trend particularly pronounced among Black participants.

Data researchers face significant and often daunting challenges in achieving high “quantitative” and “qualitative” responses from survey respondents, particularly among Black responders. A representative baseline response should ideally fall within the following ranges: Excellent 85%, strong 65%, and weak 35%. The generally under-representative response by Blacks raises the question: “How can corporate leaders in the public and private sectors close the “gap of distrust,” which refers to the lack of trust in data collection processes and historical misuse of data. These concerns create a “social” and “cultural” dilemma for survey designs.

Six helpful approaches to survey designs:

• Maintaining strict data privacy protocols
• Conducting community engagement meetings
• Anonymizing and incentivizing data collection methods
• Creating culturally sensitive survey design
• Educating Blacks about outcomes and benefits
• Conducting community feedback sessions

Data analysts, scientists, and statisticians must embark on a Canada-wide initiative to engage Blacks in understanding the necessity for a representative “quantity” and “quality” of data. The following listing of twenty representative issues underscores the importance of Black data in identifying, understanding, and solving critical problems in the Black community, gathering data on opinions, and driving policy decisions regarding the optimum participation of Blacks in the Canadian Business and Entrepreneurial Economic Ecosystem (CBEEE) to undergird Black empowerment.

Twenty representative CBDP Black empowerment issues:

1. Industrial Mindset
2. Procurement Equity
3. Employment Equity
4. Corporate Directorships
5. Education Equity
6. Student Internships
7. Fairness in Policing
8. Community Advocacy
9. Immigration Equity
10. National Apprenticeship
11. Criminal Justice
12. Social justice
13. Health Disparity
14. Housing Parity
15. Financial Justice
16. Business and Project Management[4]
17. © Black Canada Customer Care Certification (BCCCC) (Soft Skills)
18. © Black Canada Business Professional Standards Certification (BCBPSC)
19. Money Management
20. Wealth Creation

The twenty subjects mentioned above profoundly impact the functioning of the CBEEE. They constitute a comprehensive framework of complex and multilayered issues to understand the circumstances that mitigate Black empowerment. Data classification, a fundamental tool in data collection and analysis, plays a pivotal role in this understanding. It helps to delineate the dichotomy between societal and industrial issues, which is crucial and broadly classified into two significant categories. Each classification below has unique applications and significance, contributing to a holistic understanding of societal challenges, patterns, trends, and threats to society’s functioning, problem-solving, and stability.

DATA CLASSIFICATION

Classification 1 (Social data):

This data classification, crucial for understanding societal issues, focuses on the “symptoms” rather than the “root causes.” For instance, a rise in unemployment rates, personal debt, and homelessness are symptoms of an economic downturn underpinned by industrial trends. Similarly, an increase in poverty, violence, and growth in a general rise in criminal justice statistics signals a breakdown in social and societal aspects. Governments at all levels concentrate on these statistical data to try to understand and measure societal patterns and trends and address problems of inequitable distribution of support services through community funding activities. Although symptomatic, this data can derive some “stop-gap” (impermanent) solutions to these societal issues, but they are not the “root causes” of societal problems.

Classification 2 (Industrial data):

This data classification, which focuses on “hard data,” not just information but critical data for problem-solving, is crucial for your roles as program and project managers, business and financial managers, analysts, and capitalists. This data is the backbone of our understanding of the “root cause” of problems, characterized by the ability to underpin the “causes” and “effects” of the symptomatic data categorized in Classification 1. Industrial data, which examines significant trends represented as “hard numbers,” mainly focuses on the industrial sectors. It provides insights into impacts on manufacturing, production, market competition, business growth, stock market trends, corporate profitability, and economic downturns. Researchers, data analysts, engineers, program and project managers, business and financial managers and analysts, economists, and capitalists use this data to analyze and solve economic growth problems.

BLACK DATA—CATALYST FOR CHANGE

Black data is not just a tool, but a potent catalyst for change. It holds the potential to not only empower, but also to forecast, evaluate, and assess needs, priorities, and emergencies. By harnessing this potential through key Data Collection Initiatives (DCI) and Countermeasure Action Plans (CAP), executive management can preempt, mitigate, or manage issues before they escalate. This proactive problem-solving potential illuminates executive leaders in the Canadian and Black Canadian ecosystem about the limitless possibilities of data, bolstering the decision-making processes of politicians, industrialists, entrepreneurs, community leaders, Clergy, students, and laypersons.

The urgency and significance of this proposal are paramount. These objectives underscore the imperative to institutionalize a Canadian Black Data Portal (CBDP) as a unique and critical component of Black empowerment. It offers a beacon of hope for a more data-driven future, contributing to the growth and sustainability of the Black and Canadian economy. A multi-functional CBDP is not just essential but crucial to achieving the following ten objectives:

Ten potential Canadian Black Data Portal (CBDP) Initiatives:

1. Institutionalize Black data under the rubric of Canadian Black empowerment.
2. Ensure security and custodianship of Black data in collaboration with Statistics Canada.
3. Develop questionnaires that are sensitivity to the concerns of the Black community.
4. Conduct forums for mass education on the critical need for Black data.
5. Facilitate training and advisement on Black data collection methodologies.
6. Establish the integration of seamless objectives between the private/public sectors.
7. Develop the parameters for creating ‘visionary’ inspired long-term solutions.
8. Enable the public/private sectors to prioritize funding towards crucial issues.
9. Direct focus groups toward areas critical to research and development.
10. Direct the public/private sectors in prioritizing issues using evidence-based data analysis.

By achieving the ten objectives, the Canadian Black Data Portal will not only position itself as a critical player in navigating the industrial revolutions of the twenty-first century but also play a pivotal role in shaping the future. This transformative work will spark excitement and inspiration, heighten visibility and access to data for critical decision-making, and reassure stakeholders, potential investors, and decision-makers. The integration of each item will help inform the power and benefits of Canadian Black Data Portal subscription membership, as well as viability, growth, and sustainability.

CONTACT INFORMATION:
Dunn, Pierre, Barnett & Company Canada Ltd
First Canadian Place
100 King Street West
Suite 5700, Toronto, ON
M5X 1C7, CANADA
Cell: 647-966-4783  Fax: 416.915.4260
Email: jpierre@dpbglobal.com 
Email: cjustinepierre@gmail.com  
Website: http://www.dpbglobal.com

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Footnotes:

[1] Psychology Today: The 5th Industrial Revolution: The Dawn of the Cognitive Age How Technology is Driving a Revolution of Thought. By: John Nosta. Posted October 6, 2023 (https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-digital-self/202310/the-5th-industrial-revolution-the-dawn-of-the-cognitive-age).

[2] University of Waterloo: WHATSPEED: Professional education, executive development, and corporate training at the intersection of technology and business (https://watspeed.uwaterloo.ca/programs-and-courses/course-data-science-big-data-management-systems-tools.html?id=1025068).

[3] The Canadian Medical Journal (CMJA). 2022 Jul 18; 194(27): E948–E949.

Published online 2022 Jul 18. doi: 10.1503 /cmaj.220274.
[4] ® PMI (Project Management Institute) (https://www.pmi.org/).