The Center for New Data (originally known as the COVID Alliance) is a data-oriented think tank that specializes in providing researchers and media with data related to the COVID-19 pandemic, voting, and communities of voters.

Background

In July 2020, tech professionals Ryan Naughton, Andrew Graham, and Rob Krzyzanowski; Steven Davenport, an adjunct policy researcher at the Rand Corporation; and Daniel Wein, a longtime public relations professional, cofounded COVID Alliance Inc. as a nonprofit research organization in Chicago, Illinois. ^{1 2} Initially, the focus of the organization, which was founded during the COVID-19 pandemic, was to create a data platform to make data available to governments, journalists, academics, and other researchers in such a way that datasets would be both more useful and private. Since its founding, however, the organization has shifted its focus to include data on voting and communities of voters, particularly racially defined communities. To reflect this shift, the organization adopted its present-day name, the Center for New Data. ³

As of June 2022, the organization lists an office address in San Francisco, California. ⁴

Media

Democratic politician and activist Stacey Abrams has cited data and analysis from the Center for New Data on several high-profile occasions, such as in a March 15, 2021, interview with People regarding proposed state-level Republican-supported election-integrity legislation, in a March 3, 2021, interview with the New York Times, and on February 25, 2021 in testimony given to the United States House Committee on Administration. ⁵

Partners

Organizations which provide data to the Center for New Data and are noted on its website as official partners, include tech companies Veraset, XMode, OneMATA, and L2, as well as Center for Public Integrity, a left-of-center investigative journalism group based in Washington, D.C, which, among other things, sensationalizes activity of Republicans and conservatives both inside and outside of government. ^{6 7}

Steven Davenport

Steven Davenport is a cofounder and the executive director of the Center for New Data as well as an adjunct policy researcher at the Rand Corporation, a centrist global policy think tank. Additionally, Davenport is the founder and CEO of Aperture Research, a for-profit research firm that specializes in cannabis legalization and regulatory policy. ^{8 9}

Daniel Wein

Daniel Wein is a cofounder and the head of partnerships for the Center for New Data. Previously, Wein worked as a public relations professional with companies including Facebook as well as the Sierra Club. ¹⁰

1. Covid Alliance Inc. ProPublica. Accessed June 13, 2022. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/851498806.
2. “Who We Are.” The Center for New Data. Accessed June 13, 2022. https://www.newdata.org/who-we-are.
3. “What We Do.” The Center for New Data. Accessed June 13, 2022. https://www.newdata.org/what-we-do
4. “Donate by Check.” The Center for New Data. Accessed June 13, 2022. https://www.newdata.org/donate.
5. “In the News.” The Center for New Data. Accessed June 13, 2022. https://www.newdata.org/media.
6. “Partners.” The Center for New Data. Accessed June 13, 2022. https://www.newdata.org/partners.
7. “Become a Citizen Sleuth”. The Center for Public Integrity. Accessed June 13, 2022. https://www.publicintegrity.org/2017/07/07/20971/become-citizensleuth-and-uncover-trump-administration-mysteries.
8. Aperture Research is founded by Steven Davenport.” Aperture Research. Accessed June 13, 2022. https://www.aperture-research.com/about.
9. “Who We Are.” The Center for New Data. Accessed June 13, 2022. https://www.newdata.org/who-we-are.
10. “Who We Are.” The Center for New Data. Accessed June 13, 2022. https://www.newdata.org/who-we-are.