There has been recent discussion on the existence of several different data gaps across economic, social and political divides – deficits that are left unaddressed at our own peril. But there is another deficit that has, I would argue, gone relatively unnoticed but is no less important: Canada’s skills gap in data analysis.

If Canada’s data deficit is to be eliminated, more collaborative learning and engagement between data science and the arts is needed. Much of the problem could be addressed by ensuring people have the skills to know not only how to look for data, but how to interpret them. I am a professor of economics and the Director of the Master of Public Service program at the University of Waterloo, where I have been conducting policy-oriented research using large datasets for over two decades.

Source: theconversation.com
Author: Anindya Sen