In a sector that is increasing its demand and use of data to receive funding, make decisions, and demonstrate impact, social identity data is quickly becoming a mission critical element of your work. And as we’ve seen during the COVID-19 pandemic, such data are important for highlighting and addressing inequities among populations that are impacted differently.

Key social identifiers include:

Age	Indigenous identity
Place of birth	Postal code
Gender identity	Sexual orientation
Language	Household income
Disability	Race

 

What was the first pilot?

United Way of Greater Toronto led the first pilot in 2020 using sociodemographic questions developed by the City of Toronto’s Data for Equity Strategy. The City strategy was approved by Council in November 2020, which supported the collection of socio demographic data from Toronto residents and service users within City programs, services, needs assessments, and public consultations.

The purpose of the first pilot was to test sociodemographic questions with service users and to understand challenges of collecting this data from them, as well as challenges reporting the data. This pilot included 11 diverse agencies which varied in size, types of programs and services offered and communities served.