Our year 2024

We look back on an eventful year and would like to review the many experiences, encounters and news. Enjoy reading!

5 exciting Data4Good projects...

... were implemented by CorrelAid volunteers in 2024 through their work together with various civil society organizations! And the first two projects for 2025 are already in the pipeline.

We have jointly developed data solutions for these challenges:

• Automated reporting for evaluation data from Chancenwerk's educational work
• Hypothesis-based testing of assumptions for the further development of the Caritas Training Academy's digital offerings
• Text data analysis with LLMs for the survey of families with babies in Frankfurt for Babylotse
• AI-supported categorization of open-ended interview responses for In Safe Hands e.V.
• Interactive maps: Visualization of climate-relevant changes on local waters with Klima*kollektiv.

We would like to thank all the volunteers who were and are involved in the projects, everyone who applied and our project coordination team for project scoping and team selection.

(Overview of the model from the project with In safe hands e.V.)

Learning and growing with data: Over 79 participants in our educational courses

In 2024, interest in our two educational courses was high, as was the motivation of the participants!

• Our “R Learning” course took place in two sessions with a total of 37 participants.
• Our new “Data Literacy” course got off to a successful start - in two sessions with a total of 42 participants. With this new course, we are offering an introduction to basic data skills without any programming requirements.

A huge thank you to our volunteer tutors who have made this growth possible and congratulations to everyone who has successfully completed one of our courses!

The next round of courses will start soon: you can sign up for “Data Literacy” here and “Learning R” here.

CorrelAid and Civic Data Lab

We also had an eventful 12 months in the Civic Data Lab project, which is funded by the BMFSFJ and implemented together with the German Informatics Society, the German Caritas Association and us.

Our highlights:

• The motivated and constantly growing community and event formats, such as the Espresso Talks and the online workshop “Gemeinsam machen”, which promote exchange between civil society actors. As well as the CDL Barcamp, but more on that in a moment.
• Lots of exciting data consultation hours: Several times a week, we offer advice on data culture, management, tools, funding and networking in the Civic Data Lab.
• The implementation of data projects for the common good, such as the Demokratieföderrechner, Leerstandsmelder, Kommuki, Demokratie Wegweiser, all.txt, output monitoring with Ten Sing Germany and prototype development for CiviCRM.

We are very pleased that the Civic Data Lab will continue to be funded in 2025. If you are not yet familiar with the project, please visit our website or register in our community. Or listen to our latest podcast episode - where Nevena, Leo and Isabel talk to Jasmin about the work in the Civic Data Lab.

Two Datendialoge with the Bertelsmann Stiftung

Eight participants from our network took part in the Focus Data Dialogue in Berlin in March and contributed many new ideas for the work of the Bertelsmann Stiftung's projects with their data. The 4th Data Dialogue focused on data from the Wegweiser Kommune data portal.

The 5th Data Dialogue took place in Hamburg in June 2024 and brought together over 60 participants from the Data4Good network. A civil society project was also included for the first time. In collaboration with the Bertelsmann Data Science Lab and CorrelAid, solutions were developed for three important data challenges:

• FörderFunke: an app to simplify access to government benefits, supported by CorrelAid volunteers.
• eupinions: Support for the visualization of extensive survey data.
• Wegweiser Kommune: Integration of population density layers for pharmacy distance measurements.

The evening ended with a successful networking event and inspiring discussions - thank you to everyone involved! Watch the video summary of the event here: https://lnkd.in/egdbUEqr

Want to be there next time? The 6th Data Dialogue will take place in Berlin on March 14 and 15, 2025. You are welcome to register now!

One week Data Science Scholarship with IOMIDS

In collaboration with the Institute of Machine Intelligence & Data Science, we once again offered the Data Science Scholarship in April to promote training in data science and AI for volunteer purposes. The scholarship included full coverage of course fees for IOMIDS' Data Science Bootcamp. In our blog, our volunteer Max tells us what he took away from the bootcamp.

Core Team Retreat: brainstorming and impact reflection

In April 2024, we met again in Kassel for the Core Team Retreat to brainstorm, plan, discuss and enjoy some analog team time together. During the retreat, we worked intensively on the question What is our impact? The first attempt to focus on our impact led to lots of ideas, but also a slight feeling of “getting bogged down”.

In the impact sprint from May to July, we therefore tackled this important topic in a more structured way. With the help of advice from Johannes from Finding Futures, we further concretized our work and broke it down into three areas of impact:

• Participation of marginalized groups in data science.
• Empowering NPOs to use data critically and purposefully.
• Enabling effective engagement, both for volunteers and for NPOs.

An important step to focus our goals more clearly!

Exchange around the “campfire” at the Civic Data Lab Barcamp

One of the highlights of the year was definitely the Civic Data Lab Barcamp, which took place live in Berlin in May and brought together almost 80 committed participants from Germany and Austria. In an open format - from spontaneously registered sessions to planned talks - we discussed topics ranging from practical implementation issues to societal visions.

Some of the highlights:

🔦 Code of Conduct AI

🥾 Linked open data

🎒 LLMs, SLMs, RAG

🌱 AI Washing

An inspiring day that leaves you wanting more! We are already looking forward to the second edition in 2025!

CorrelAid on tour

For our Data4Good mission, our volunteers and team members also traveled all over Germany in 2024. Here is a (certainly incomplete) overview of our stops:

• Digital Social Summit in January Berlin: Together with our colleagues from the Civic Data Lab, we hosted a workshop on the topic: “Between Excel and AI: finding effective and feasible data projects”
• 100xDigital Community Convention of the German Foundation for Engagement and Volunteering in Essen in February: Here, too, we were on site with the Civic Data Lab team to exchange ideas and network.
• At the Open Data Day in Münster in March, CorrelAider Luke Bölling gave a presentation on the potential of open data for sustainable urban development.
• The DATA festival in March was a good opportunity to continue the discussion about the benefits of data and AI for effective solutions in civil society. Leo contributed to this with a presentation on “Leveraging data and AI for social impact”
• In May, we attended the German Foundation Day of the Association of German Foundations, Europe's largest foundation congress, in Hanover - a great opportunity to exchange ideas and network with exciting people and their projects. Thanks to the German Foundation for Engagement and Volunteering, we had the opportunity to present our TransformD project, the Data Literacy course.
• We were a network partner of the University:Future Festival - Tales of Tomorrow, where the question of the future of digital academic education was discussed.
• At the Digital Summit in Frankfurt, we presented the Civic Data Lab together with the Gesellschaft für Informatik e.V. (German Informatics Society). As a representative of civil society, it was particularly important to us to bring in the perspectives and needs of civil society, especially those civil society organizations with fewer resources.
• At the Women in Data Science Conference in Munich in October, we also had the opportunity to highlight the possibilities of data science for good causes with a presentation (thanks Ann-Kristin!)

Thank you for the many inspiring conversations all over Germany!

150 participants at the Hack and Harvest Hackathon Konstanz

Think. Hack. Innovate - this was the motto under which we organized the Hack and Harvest Hackathon in June together with cyberLAGO e.V., farm - Gründung & Innovation, the City of Constance and UFG e.V. Over 150 participants contributed their ideas and technical skills to numerous projects. Two days of intensive brainstorming and coding led to inspiring solutions and new partnerships. A big thank you to everyone who took part!

The planning for the next Hack and Harvest Hackathon has already started - so stay tuned!

Team growth and a big step towards professionalization

In May, Lena takes over community management, collaboration with the Bertelsmann Stiftung and tasks in the Civic Data Lab as a parental leave replacement for Isabel. Samuel and Jonas join the education team as working students and support the implementation of the R Lernen courses.

Thanks to aqtivator funding, CorrelAid is growing even further in summer 2024: Antje starts as a data literacy officer, focusing on revising and implementing the “Data Literacy” course. And we will be able to employ a management team for the first time: Johanna becomes CorrelAid's first office manager and takes charge of modernizing our financial processes and accounting, working closely with our CFO Marco. Our new managing directors, Ann-Kristin and Zoé, will work closely with the board, acquire new funding and represent CorrelAid in dealings with foundations. An important step for the further professionalization of CorrelAid e.V.!

Community time at CorrelCon 2024 in Munich

CorrelCon took place in October - CorrelAid's annual community conference and definitely one of our highlights! ✨

Three days full of intensive workshops on tech, coding and data science, where knowledge was shared and skills were developed. But it was about much more: the exchange within the community, the networking and the creative impulses - including some funny dinoprompts 🦖 - made the event really special. It was great to meet so many committed people - thank you to everyone who attended and contributed to this great weekend!

A special thank you, of course, to the organizing team: Thank you for making CorrelCon possible again this year, Sören, Rahel, Regina, Lena and Nevena! 💚

Finally, a special thanks to Mindfuel for supporting CorrelCon. Your contribution strengthens our mission and enables us to make events like this even more enriching!

The birth of the Datendinos

Over dinner in Constance, Zoé, the current managing director of CorrelAid, and association member Sören came up with a special idea: inspired by a friend's dinosaur sticker booklet, they came up with the idea of using data dinosaurs as mascots to communicate complex data topics.

Thanks to AI technology, the idea quickly became reality: a simple “Data Dinosaur” prompt generated three cute dinosaurs with diagrams, which first enriched CorrelAid's life as digital stickers and later even as a limited edition sticker.

The creativity of the community seems to know no bounds and the data dinosaurs can now be found everywhere in the CorrelAid universe: on small wooden dinosaur name tags at CorrelCon, in community workshops and presentations, as Slack emojis, and so on and so forth. We are excited to see which cute data dinosaurs will see the light of day and where we will encounter them in the future!

CorrelCompact makes it easier to enter the world of data

The new workshop series “CorrelCompact” has been launched! The format complements our educational courses “R Learning” and “Understanding and Using Data”, but is also intended as an introduction to the world of data for anyone interested and involved in civil society. In addition to a short input on topics such as Kickstart in AI, data quality, data storytelling or discrimination through data, the focus is on the exchange between committed people, regardless of whether they are full-time or voluntary workers.

Have you seen it yet? In our [collection of educational materials](CorrelCompact makes it easier to enter the world of data The new workshop series “CorrelCompact” has been launched! The format complements our educational courses “R Learning” and “Understanding and Using Data”, but is also intended as an introduction to the world of data for anyone interested and involved in civil society. In addition to a short input on topics such as Kickstart in AI, data quality, data storytelling or discrimination through data, the focus is on the exchange between committed people, regardless of whether they are full-time or voluntary workers. Have you seen it yet? In our collection of educational materials, you will find the content of the CorrelCompact workshops, materials from our other educational formats and other resources. ), you will find the content of the CorrelCompact workshops, materials from our other educational formats and other resources.

The data incubator: comprehensive training and project support for NPOs

Over the course of the year, we have invested a lot of time and thought in the development of the data incubator. Data incubator? Behind this is a concept that meaningfully interlinks the three pillars of CorrelAid - projects, education and community - and can thus provide civil society organizations with even more comprehensive and targeted support. How exactly does this work?

📚 The data incubator starts with three modular courses for non-profit organizations and volunteer data scientists, with special consideration given to the different levels of knowledge and experience of the course participants.

🎯 The courses form the basis for the subsequent project phase with the participating organizations and volunteers, which lasts around six months. Throughout the entire time in the data incubator, we continuously create opportunities for exchange and networking. We are already looking forward to the kick-off and the many exciting organizations and data projects that we can support on their data journey with the Data Incubator!

Proposals and demands for policymakers

💡 Together with 30 civil society organizations under the leadership of D64 - Center for Digital Progress, we are developing a Code of Conduct for the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in civil society. The aim of the project is to support civil society organizations in critically reflecting on the use of AI and strengthening core values such as freedom, justice and solidarity.

📝 A white paper has already been published on the area of tension “Freedom and AI”.

🤝 Together with other civil society organizations, we have started work on the second white paper, which will be published in the spring. - This time with a focus on justice. In September, when the German government's new “security package” threatened to restrict the right to asylum and introduce mass biometric surveillance, we joined 26 other organizations in supporting D64's demands to all members of the German Bundestag: Defend human rights, stop biometric facial recognition!

Team change in the mentoring program

Jasmin Classen and Nicolas Fröhlich have been in charge of the mentoring program for many years - a big thank you for their great work! Now there are new faces here too: Polina Mosolova and Marcus Wurster are the new volunteer team, with additional support from Linda Peitz and David Kollmann. We wish you lots of fun and success as the new coordinators of the mentoring program.

Not yet familiar with the mentoring program? Here, mentors and mentees have the unique opportunity to discuss a wide range of topics. Be it about the next career step, an upcoming decision or simply about technological or data-related topics. Sounds interesting? Have a look here!

New ethics committee and new board for the Data4Good mission

This year's CorrelAid General Assembly on December 10, 2024 brought a number of changes. In addition to the election of a new board and a new ethics committee, a new bylaws committee was set up to revise the bylaws before the 2025 general meeting. Changes to the membership fees were also decided: Active membership now costs €60/year, reduced €30/year, and the minimum contribution for supporting members is €10/month (€120/year). From 2025, there will also be a paid chair of the Executive Board instead of a management board for the first time.

Another highlight: September 2025 will see the launch of the Data Incubator, our new flagship project that combines educational courses and Data4Good projects.

We would like to thank the previous board members Sebastian Zezulka, Rahel Becker, Marco Lax, Roven Goerke, Sarah Risse, Rahkakavee Baskaran and Ann-Kristin Vester for their fantastic work and great commitment - you were a great team! The newly elected board consists of Ann-Kristin Vester, Zoé Wolter, Sylvi Rzepka, Philipp Bosch, Sarah Risse, Sören Etler and Andreas Neumann - we are looking forward to the coming year with you! Thank you also to Manuel Neumann for continuing to take responsibility for the cash audit!

We would also like to say a big thank you to the previous members of the Ethics Committee, Lada Rudnitckaia, André Lange, Mario Truss, Polina Mosolova and Regina Siegers - your work and advice was an important pillar for the work of CorrelAid!

Our newly elected Ethics Committee consists of Polina Mosolova, Katharina Kloppenborg, Benjamin Fries and Pia Baronetzkly. Thank you for taking on this important task!

Save the Dates! A first look ahead to 2025

It will be a very special year for us, because the 10th anniversary of CorrelAid is coming up! We would like to celebrate this from July 4 to 6, 2025 at CorrelCon 2025 in Constance on Lake Constance, where CorrelAid originated.

2025 will also be filled with events related to Data4Good, we will of course inform you about all upcoming events in the coming weeks and months, we look forward to seeing many of you there! So please check our calendar of events from time to time.

Here is a small preview:

• Feb 14-16- Core Team Retreat in FFM
• March 14 and 15: 6th Datendialog with the Bertelsmann Stiftung in Berlin
• July 04 to 06: CorrelCon 2025 + 10th anniversary
• September 2025: The data incubator starts!
• September 12 and 13, 2025: 7th Datendialog with the Bertelsmann Stiftung

Last but not least: A small request

Since we have simply grown so much, we want to expand our structures. And this incurs costs for infrastructure, administration and so on. Please support us with a small donation on betterplace. Also as a standing order. Thank you very much!