Data has the power to transform civil society. When used strategically, it can inform decision-making, enhance service delivery, and strengthen advocacy efforts. Yet, despite a growing awareness of data’s value, many civil society organisations in Germany continue to face challenges in adopting open data practices and fostering meaningful data collaboration. In addition, the current geopolitical environment coupled with challenging and changing contexts is highly affecting the civil society sector globally. In order to respond to such challenges, data-driven collaborations help with diversifying funding sources, and enabling innovative funding approaches, all while incentivising outcome-driven cross-sectoral collaboration and social impact.
To unlock the full potential of data for the common good, we must rethink both how data is used and who is responsible for its stewardship. This means shifting the focus from purely technical roles to strategic, cross-sector collaboration that enables the use and reuse of data as a powerful asset for social impact.
In response to these challenges, the Bertelsmann Stiftung, in collaboration with The Data Tank and The GovLab, launched the first-ever Data Stewardship Intensive Course in Berlin last year. The program was designed to build the human infrastructure needed to use data responsibly, sustainably, and effectively in the civil society sector.
Building on the success of the first Intensive Course and the recent launch of the Civil Society Data Atlas by Bertelsmann Stiftung, we are excited to announce the second edition of the Data Stewardship Intensive Course in Berlin this fall! This new edition of the course will be offered in a hybrid format, starting with three on-site intensive sessions from October 6th to 8th, followed by three online sessions, for a total of one-month duration course.
JOIN US: Together with our key partner – Bertelsmann Stiftung- we are calling upon leaders and data experts from the civil society sector to apply to be part of a new generation of data stewards that can design and steer the data reuse strategy of their organization or team!
What will you learn?
The program is designed around the Data Stewards Canvas, a step-by-step tool to help organisations develop a data reuse strategy. It combines structured learning with real-world applications, featuring guest lectures and site visits that highlight innovative data reuse of social sector data for civil society. The Data Stewards Canvas has recently been updated for relevance amidst the increasing AI developments. The Canvas now covers sections on open data and genAI, preparing AI-ready data, and presents a myriad of AI use cases.
Learning Structure:
- In-Person Sessions:
The in-person component kicks off with an Introduction to Data Stewardship, followed by modules such as Formulating the Demand for Data and Understanding and Describing Data Supply. Over three intensive days, participants will attend morning lectures by Stefaan Verhulst, PhD, co-founder of The GovLab and The DataTank, and distinguished guest speakers. Afternoons will feature visits to innovation hubs in Berlin, offering participants a firsthand look at data stewardship in the city’s ecosystem.
Date & Timing:
The in-person sessions will take place in Berlin on October 6th, 7th, and 8th, 2025. Each session starts at 9:00 AM (CET) and will include lectures in the morning, followed by field visits in the afternoon, with a one-hour lunch break.
The lectures will cover the main sections of the Data Stewards Canvas. The in-person sessions will start with the following topics:
- Introduction to Data Stewardship and Formulating the Demand: Defining data, problem definition, understanding the demand for data
- Understanding and Describing the Data Supply: Defining societal value proposition, mapping supply, data sharing, the data winter
- Matching Demand and Supply - Governance: Risks across the data lifecycle, building a business case, stakeholder mapping, cost-benefits estimates.
Online Sessions:
Date & Timing
Online sessions begin after the in-person sessions, starting from October 15. Each online session will start at 2:30 PM CET and last for 2.5 hours, running for three weeks (each Wednesday) until the program concludes on Nov 5th, 2025.
The online portion will focus on:
- Matching Demand with Supply -Technical Infrastructure: Infrastructure requirements, data standards, open data and gen AI, preparing AI-Ready data
- Moving from Insight to Action: Decision Intelligence -opportunities and challenges, importance of lived experiences, decision legitimacy, assessing impact.
Course Assignment:
By the end of the program, participants will apply their learning by writing a data reuse assignment tailored to their respective organizations, ensuring direct application to their professional contexts. But what is a data reuse strategy to begin with? A data reuse strategy is a detailed strategy on data internal and external flows to maximize efforts for the public good.
This assignment is expected to be developed throughout the course, where course facilitators will act as mentors and provide their support. The data reuse assignment focuses on:
- Identifying a challenge participants and their respective organisations are facing that data could help answer;
- Proposing a data-driven solution pertaining to the challenge at hand;
- Coming up with a sustainability plan for the solution and ensuring its impact lasts via a solution lifecycle approach.
Toward this end, participants also attend two course pitching sessions organised on October 30 and October 31 online. During these sessions participants present their data reuse assignment in four slide decks (5 minutes). They then dive into an open Q&A session where they receive feedback for their presentations.
*All the sections of the data reuse strategy are expected to be developed using the Data Stewards Canvas and the many toolkits made available via the course.
Finally, participants are expected to briefly describe the challenge that they would like to solve with the help of the course in the application form directly. This will be the base for their data reuse assignments to be developed.
How & When:
- Duration: The program runs for around four weeks from October 6th to November 5th, 2025
Format: The hybrid format includes a 3-day on-site session in Berlin, followed by three weeks of online learning.
Language: The course will be conducted in English and aims at equipping data stewards with the necessary skills to enhance data collaborations focused on the common good.
Cost and selection: The course is free and only 20 applicants will be selected!
Certification and Alumni: At the end, participants will receive a certificate and join a global alumni network of around 100 data leaders.
Who is this for?
This course is an executive learning program targeted at professionals from the German civil society working on data-related topics.
Some of the potential profiles include: Data Governance Leads, Senior Data Managers, Data Scientists, Chief Data Officers, Data Privacy Officers, Senior Program/Project Managers for Data and/or AI for Good Projects, and Digital Transformation managers.
What do previous participants say about the bootcamp?
‘The Data Stewards Intensive Course was a great opportunity to learn more on this very interesting but complicated topic. Building on the Canvas, the course was a mix of theoretical, practical and hands-on learning. A diverse pool of experts shared their expertise with us and we benefited from diverse views on how this role is implemented in practice.’ - Céliane Pochon, Swiss Federal Office of Communications OFCOM | Zürich and Bern Cohort 2025
‘I would recommend the Data Stewardship Course to anyone interested in learning more about the opportunities and challenges that data-driven innovation implies in real-world organizations. If you are interested in that, you will find yourself in great hands: the care that the Data Tank team puts into every activity is what makes the course truly stand out!’ -Federico Piovesan, Weco Italy | Torino Cohort 2024
‘The Data Stewards seminar created an inclusive environment that allowed me to work with other data driven professionals in civic society that allowed me to learn about tools and frameworks to bring data to my organization.’ - Nadine Isabel Levin, United Nations OCHA | Berlin Cohort 2024
‘The boot camp was a unique experience to focus on the strategic value of data stewardship processes for an organisation. It stimulated my critical and creative thinking, allowing me to re-boost some of my organisation's internal processes and projects with new energy.’ -Stefania Paolazzi, Municipality of Bologna | Torino Cohort 2024
‘The Data Steward Intensive Course is highly recommended. In addition to the wealth of inspiring content, case studies and site visits are used to create practical references. This helps you to transfer the content to problems in your own organization. I took away an incredible amount and can use the knowledge very well when planning and structuring new research projects.’ - Katharina König, Werner-Felber-Institut e.V. | Berlin Cohort 2024
How to apply?
The Call for Applications is now open until the 15th of August, 2025.
APPLY HERE: LINK TO FORM
To apply, participants must present a letter of support from a representative in their organisation, explaining how their current position and mandate relate to the bootcamp. Additionally, participants must share an initial data reuse strategy idea to develop over the course (max. 250 words) and their current CV. These should be uploaded in the call for application section on our website or directly via the application link above.
If you have any questions reach out to: paulina.behluli@datatank.org or natalia.mejia-pardo@datatank.org
