FAQs

EDDIT is an in-depth data analysis and storytelling training program for organizations working towards urban equitable development. EDDIT aims to help organizations fully leverage their data to better evaluate and communicate the impacts of their work. The EDDIT team will work closely with your organization to create a personalized curriculum designed to meet your data and narrative needs.

Interested in EDDIT for your organization? Contact info@equitabledev.org for information and pricing.

• EDDIT is a training program for organizations, including local government (e.g., a local planning department), non-profits (e.g., an affordable housing developer or a business improvement district), community organizations (e.g. a residents’ association), and private organizations.
• Organizations must operate in a U.S. or Canadian city with a population ranging from about 50,000 to 500,000.
• Organizations should have a specific equitable development project/program that they wish to use as the basis for the training. Ideally, this project/program has been active for three or more years and has robust data.
• Note that the EDDIT training is not open to individuals or students.

Having a specific equitable development project/program to use as the focus of the training is strongly preferred. However, if your organization does not have a specific project/program, you will not be necessarily disqualified. If this is your situation, please describe in your application the specific equitable development goals, approaches, or research questions that your organization would like to focus on in the training program.

Participation in an EDDIT cohort spans about a year. Organizations must have a commitment to participate in 20-30 hours of training. An overall timeline is provided below:

• Stage 1: Kick-off: We will hold a virtual kick-off meeting with the EDDIT team and the cohort of selected organizations. In addition, we will schedule individual virtual meetings to plan the site visit and discuss your project/program.
• Stage 2: In-Person Site Visit: Members of the EDDIT team will spend a few days visiting your site to learn more about your organization, your data, and the challenges of your project.
• Stage 3: Curriculum Design: The EDDIT team will design specialized workshops based on your data and narrative needs. There will be virtual, periodic check-ins and coaching sessions during this process.
• Stage 4: Curriculum Delivery: Once the curriculum is designed, your staff will go through a 10-12 week training program with 20-30 hours of virtual lectures, workshops, modules, and office hours. Your staff will analyze and communicate the story of your project by the end of the program.
• Stage 5: Symposium: Your organization will be invited to attend a symposium to present and celebrate your work along with the rest of the EDDIT cohort. Flights and accommodations will be expensed by EDDIT.

At this time, EDDIT is only open to organizations that operate in small or mid-sized cities, as defined by a population ranging from about 50,000 to 500,000. Cities with populations slightly over or under these thresholds may be eligible. However, cities with populations that far exceed these limits will not be considered. If this applies to you, we encourage you to keep an eye out for future rounds of EDDIT, as eligibility criteria may be expanded. Sign up for updates to stay in touch!

Yes! We welcome this type of project/program.

This is not a strict requirement, but it will be taken into consideration as part of the overall evaluation. This will help us identify projects/programs that have sufficient data to be analyzed as part of the training. For example, this could look like a workforce development program that has been running for the last 3 years, or a new BRT Line that was built 3 years ago.

Ideally, your organization will have at least some basic data associated with your project/program, given that this will be the focus of the training. Having some data as a starting point is recommended, but you do not need to propose a detailed data plan given that we will work closely with your organization to explore other datasets and organize/analyze your existing data resources. Data may include:

• Qualitative or quantitative data collected from your project/program
• Administrative data (e.g. individual health or tax records)
• Proprietary data (e.g. data purchased from a vendor)
• Geocoded data (e.g. addresses, phone numbers, zip codes)
• Open source data (e.g. census data)

Equitable development is defined as policies, programs, and/or infrastructure investments that provide opportunities for all by reducing wealth and health disparities, with an intentional focus on disinvested places and communities of color. Areas of equitable development include:

• Economic opportunity
• Housing affordability
• Transportation accessibility
• Food security
• Environmental justice
• Capacity building
• Culture and history
• Community wealth-building
• Active living
• See the Initiative page for more details

Yes! We encourage you to apply. Projects that integrate multiple areas of equitable development may have a competitive advantage.

Yes, you may select ‘Other’ in the application form. Please describe the nature of your equitable development project

Yes! Seasonal projects, such as a summer camp or a winter festival, are considered eligible. Projects must have been active for 3 or more seasons.