As the Panama and Paradise Papers investigations have shown, data journalism often has an impact on more than one community, even across borders, which is why collaboration is key for reporters working to hold power to account.
In this post on the newly-launched Data Journalism Den, Bertrand Pecquerie, chief executive of the Global Editors Network, outlines 10 tips for collaborative data journalism projects from Mar Cabra, former head of the data and research unit at the International Consortium for Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).
Cabra advises attending conferences and meetups to build a network of relevant journalists and developers even before you have a project to work on, and getting to know their technical and interpersonal skills before starting a collaboration.
It's also a good idea to decide from the beginning if the project will have a coordinator or manager, especially when the people involved haven't worked together before, and establish clear responsibilities for each member.
The more people are involved, the more likely it is that a number of different tools will be used to communicate, so Cabra suggests conducting a threat modelling assessment to consider the project's security needs.
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