Data Storytelling and Visualisation

The key objective of this course is to improve overall data fluency and help people tell more compelling stories with data. To do this, the course contains the following five modules: 

1. Principles of Effective & Persuasive Storytelling: Why Stories Work 
2. Principles of Data-informed Decision-Making: Statistical Techniques for Finding the Narrative in Your Data 
3. Principles of Effective Data Visualisation & Information Design 
4. How to Craft and Share a Compelling Data Story 
5. Bringing Your Data Story to Life: Presenting Effectively

Covering topics like effective decision-making, data visualisation, persuasive communication, crafting and sharing data stories; this course is designed to help provide a clear and practical framework for generating actionable insights and audience engagement. 

1. Effective and persuasive storytelling and communication. 
2. Identify your audience and scope your own data story. 
3. Data analysis: practical techniques for finding the story in your data. 
4. Principles of effective data visualisation and information design. 
5. Data visualisation: choosing the right visual for your data story. 
6. Principles of data storytelling, and why stories + data are so powerful. 
7. How to bring your data story to life: putting it all together, presentation skills. 

Suitable for professionals and decision makers working in government departments, the not-for-profit and place-based sectors, as well as private and commercially run organisations. Our focus is executives, middle management, emerging leaders, decision-makers, data analysts, scientists, and practitioners, as well as academics and HDR students. The course intentionally appeals to a wide audience due to its principles-led and project-based approach and due to the popular option wherein participants are encouraged to bring their own data, questions, and problem statements to unpack while progressing through the five modules. 

On completing this course, you will be a confident user of data and its communication. You will learn the skills to leverage data within your organisation, identify data gaps, identify and connect with your audience using data, and drive meaningful change internally and externally. The course is designed to give you the skills and tools required to make change at scale.

This is our customisable offering; it is based on the five core modules in our open offering and includes additional value and more immediate actionability. We provide this by mapping learning outcomes to business objectives and carefully selecting industry - and problem-specific examples, methods and datasets. These are then incorporated into our core module content through an effecient co-design process (1/2 day) alongside key stakeholders from our B2B partners. Please contact us at ridl@griffith.edu.au to discuss pricing options. We can accommodate up to 40 participants in-person, or we can create an online, self-paced version of the course for larger numbers of participants.

All sessions will be held at Griffith University South Bank Campus. Each session will run from 9am to 4:30pm each day and catering will be provided for morning tea and lunch.

The November cohort will run from Monday 11th November to Friday 15th November. For those interested in attending a future cohort, dates for our March cohort will be listed once the November cohort closes.

Rhetta Chappell: Course Creator, Lead Facilitator in Data Visualisation, Data Science and Data Storytelling 

Rhetta Chappell is the Data Scientist and Partnerships Lead at Griffith University’s Relational Insights Data Lab (RIDL). In this role she leads a growing team of high-performing data analysts and provides strategic direction on complex, mission and data-driven projects for industry, government, and academic partners. Nominated as one of the top 15 women in STEM in the state in 2023 by the Office of the Queensland Chief Scientist and Office for Women, and a speaker at conferences like the Royal Statistical Society in Scotland and the Intelligent Transport Systems Global Summit in Melbourne highlights speak to her standing in the field. Rhetta's work is not just about data analysis; it's about creating sustainable, impactful solutions aligned with global initiatives like the UN's Sustainable Development Goals.

Rhetta’s been working with data for over 10 years and her strengths are in strategic relationship building, stakeholder engagement, the design and implementation of robust statistical analyses, data storytelling, engaging information design, and the building of actionable and innovative data solutions. After completing a degree in Anthropology, Rhetta has gone on to complete post graduate qualifications in statistics, data science and machine learning and is currently completing her MBA at Griffith. Rhetta also hosts a podcast about using data to support thriving communities called, Show Me the Data.

Dr Tom Verhelst: Guest Facilitator, Big Data, Data Policy and Strategy, Data Linkage and Sharing

Dr Mark Griffin: Guest Facilitator, Data Analytics and Statistics 

Ashley Hay: Co-Facilitator and Content Contributor

Jo McCallum: Guest Facilitator, Data Design and Storytelling

Emily Millane: Guest Lecturer, Superannuation, Finance, Economics and Public Service