March 2026 Guest Editorship
The Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation (CDEI) help Stats NZ build a secure, trusted, and ethical data environment for Aotearoa — supporting agencies to use and innovate with data safely, confidently, and for public good.
Their mahi includes:
- Engaging: Connecting across government and sectors to understand diverse needs, shape inclusive approaches, and amplify under-represented voices.
- Advising: Providing strategic input, curating guidance, and developing tools and training that support ethical and transparent data use.
- Networking: Acting as a central hub to connect people, share expertise, and align efforts across government, academia, NGOs, and industry.
- Supporting: Championing ethical thinking, building capability, and promoting frameworks.
In 2024, the Centre launched DataEthicsHub, a digital platform hosted on Circle.so. The Hub brings together members from a wide range of backgrounds, including privacy, data, philosophy, artificial intelligence, community engagement, NGOs, security, academia, and more — all connected by a shared interest in data, innovation, and ethics.
Members are encouraged to post, share resources, ask questions, and start conversations. This is a collaborative space designed to support knowledge sharing, networking, and open discussion.
If you would like to join DataEthicsHub, please email dataethics@stats.govt.nz and the CDEI team will be in touch.
NZCCSS was invited to ‘Hold the Pen’ and act as Guest Editor for the DataEthicsHub platform for March 2026, with the view to bring a distinctly Christian perspective to the conversation around data in the lead up to Easter.
We were thrilled to be able to showcase thoughts from across our membership, featuring:
When Data Isn’t Neutral; Reimagining data ethics through community and Christian Values
Sarah Mulcahy – Anglican Care Waiapu
Te Ora o te Whānau; a new lens on State of the Nation 2026
Charm Skinner – The Salvation Army Social Policy and Parliamentary Unit
Whose Story is it Anyway? The Ethics of story as Data
Rev. Dr. Bonnie Robinson
Data as Taonga; Caring for whānau through honouring their data
Dr. Lovely Dizon – VisionWest Waka Whakakitenga
Warm Data Labs; The value of an approach that addresses the limits of administrative data
David Hanna – Wesley Community Action
An introduction and concluding piece, linking the Easter Story to CDEI’s Human Values for Data Ethics framework, were provided by NZCCSS analyst Rachel Mackay
Our thanks to the CDEI team for leading the conversation on how data ethics and innovation intersects with everyday lives. We look forward to continuing to follow the work being done at the Centre and connecting our membership to their ideas, resources, and innovations.
An additional thanks to those members who provided us with contributions.