The SDU was set up to support the development of data journalism skills across the local news industry. This was in recognition of the growing importance of these skills in the face of more data being created and made available than ever before in all areas of public life, including local government.
The SDU aims to bring high quality investigative journalism to its local partner network and the 大象传媒. Its reporters take the time and space to work on exclusive investigative journalism, using cutting edge digital techniques to tell stories that would otherwise go untold.
The SDU believes in making its journalism accessible to as many people as possible, and in being transparent and accountable in its reporting. All our data, methodologies and code are published on our website.
The SDU also runs a training programme, which has impacted on the scale and quality of regional data journalism being undertaken across the industry. We help to strengthen local news output by giving journalists the skills to interrogate data and tell stories of importance to their communities.