Civil rights pioneer Ida B. Wells said that “the way to right wrongs is to turn the light of truth upon them.” The Institute for the Quantitative Study of Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity (QSIDE) uses the cutting edge of data science and mathematical modeling to focus that light. We’ve been able to put our discoveries into practice by partnering with museum curators who want to diversify their collections; by creating the first public dataset that allows scrutiny of federal criminal sentencing equity at the individual judge level; by exposing the structural role universities play in perpetuating racial disparities in STEM; and much more.

Formally instantiated as a 501(c)3 nonprofit in 2019, QSIDE adopts a community participatory action research model and exists as a loose and nimble network of quantitative scholars, justice subject matter experts, activists, and other stakeholders. Led by its co-founders, Chad Topaz, Ph.D. (Executive Director of Research) and Jude Higdon, Ed.D. (Chief Operations Officer), QSIDE has no salaried employees. In the three short years of our existence, we are proud to have achieved outcomes comparable to those of organizations many times our size. 

Our work includes

• Research-to-action projects addressing education equity, diversity and inclusion in arts/media, and criminal justice (we are currently in the planning phase for projects in environmental justice and health equity),
• Action-to-justice laboratories on human trafficking, small town policing, and criminal sentencing disparities, and
• Education and community-building programs to grow our nation’s capacity for informed and careful work at the interface of data science and social justice.