Data visualization is changing. Today, comms teams in think tanks must increasingly work with bigger datasets, interactive tools, and dashboards that update continuously. As AI widens the kinds of data researchers can work with, the products that we create to communicate that data are becoming more technically complex.
That’s why the focus of our next Wonkcomms Berlin Breakfast Club is the next wave of data visualization: what does good data visualization look like now and what do comms teams in think tanks need to know.
We’ll get into some of the practical questions that the shifting landscape creates: when a chart is enough versus when an interactive product is the better way to go; how to communicate data that isn’t simply numerical; what sits behind a dashboard that needs to keep working as the data changes; and how policymakers, journalists, and other audiences actually use the visualizations that we build.
We’ll be joined by:
Aliya Boranbayeva: from her experience as Associate Communications and Events at the Hertie School’s Data Science Lab and as Manager of its Centre for Digital Governance, she will share examples of how the lab communicates data science and highly technical research to wider audiences.
Vincent Reich with contributions from Saurav Adhikari and Stephen Oloh: they will bring together communications and data perspectives from the Africa Policy Research Institute, including work with complex policy datasets, interactive formats, and the infrastructure behind them.
Moderated by
Wiebke Ewering
Senior Communications Associate, More in Common, Germany
We’ve asked the speakers to show rather than simply tell, using real data visualization projects to unpack what worked, what didn’t, and what they would approach differently with hindsight.
Then we’ll open the conversation up to you! Wonkcomms is a peer forum, so bring your own examples as well as difficult projects and questions about where data viz is heading in your organization.
→ Register here: WonkComms Breakfast Club: The next wave of data visualization Tickets, Wednesday 28 October • 9 AM - 10:30 AM | Eventbrit
Coffee, croissants, and comms – what could be a better start to your morning?
And please forward this invitation to any friends and colleagues who you think might be interested. As spaces are limited, registrations will be considered on a first-come, first-served basis. So, if you can’t come for any reason, please let us know asap so that we can offer the space to someone else.
If you cannot join us for this session, don’t worry – there will be further WonkComms Breakfast Clubs hosted in Berlin in the coming months. Please follow Soapbox and Think Tank Lab on LinkedIn for announcements, and feel free to get in touch with suggestions for future topics and speakers.
For any questions, please contact John Schwartz (john.schwartz@designbysoapbox.com) or the Think Tank Lab team (hello@thinktanklab.org).
We look forward to seeing you soon!
About WonkComms Breakfast Clubs: WonkComms is a global network of think tank communications professionals who share ideas and best practices. Our first event was in the UK in 2013 and we have since expanded our activities to Washington DC, Berlin, Brussels, Madrid, and Buenos Aires. We organize informal events on subjects that are of practical interest to our community. You can find us on LinkedIn. The WonkComms Breakfast Club Berlin is organized by Soapbox and the Think Tank Lab.