A Deep Dive into Thick Data

A hands-on workshop introducing thick data — the stories, context, and meaning that drive insight. Learn how to gather, interpret, and use deep qualitative insights to inform stronger strategies, policies, and designs that actually resonate with human experience.

• Format: 8 hours (could take place over 1-4 sessions)
• Location: Online or in-person
• Group Size: 6–30 participants
• Cost: Sliding scale, tailored to your organization or team
• Scheduling: Flexible — we’ll work with you to find the right dates
• Facilitation: by InWithForward researchers who have gathered thick data in contexts from mental health to housing to child protection to volunteering.

Where do fresh insights to address stuck social problems come from? How do we challenge the underlying assumptions that lead to the same tired solutions?

We use what is called thick data to reframe problems and generate fresh ideas. Thick data comes from participatory research in the places people affected by the problem live, work, and play. Rarely do the assumptions driving research survive the process intact. When we asked ‘what does wellbeing look like for people living rough with mental health and addiction challenges,’ the assumed solution was a coordinated service hub. Thick data revealed that people were well connected to services. What they desired but lacked was acknowledgement of grief, sense of purpose and respect, and connection to the broader community. And our research provided a lot of ideas for what kinds of interactions could support those needs. That changed everything our government partners and we did after that.

In this workshop, we’ll explore the power of thick data in a variety of contexts — working through the purpose, ethics, methods, and sense-making approaches that are unique to this type of research. Participants will have the opportunity to apply the concept and potential of thick data to challenges in their own work.

Through case-based learning participants will practice gathering and interpreting thick data, design small scale experiments to validate insights, and turn learning into design or policy directions. Through these activities, you will gain skills in qualitative observation, synthesis, storytelling, and relational ethics.

You’ll learn how to complement statistical data with human-centred insights that reveal motivations, barriers, and opportunities, and leverage the generative power of thick data to imagine what could be, not just what already is.

Core questions:

• What makes data “thick,” and why does it matter?

• How do we gather and analyze thick data in participatory and ethical ways?

• How can thick data reshape strategy, design, and evaluation?

By the end of the workshop, participants will leave with practical methods for integrating qualitative insight into planning, design, and communication processes.

This workshop is for anyone who wants to bring more humanity into how data informs design, planning, or decision-making. It is not specific to the social sector but can be used to influence the design of buildings and spaces, programs, policies, services, or communities of any type.

Ideal for:

• Architects and urban planners

• Policy analysts and public servants

• Strategists and evaluators

• Designers and researchers

• Community builders and funders