Hawai‘i Data Collaborative Launches New Tool: Hawai‘i Data Explorer

For those of us working to support Hawai‘i’s households struggling to get by, it can be challenging to find the data we need to understand what is happening and what to do about it. Data in Hawai‘i is hosted in numerous places that may not be easy to find, and Google searches often do not point us in the right direction. In response to this need, we have developed the Hawai‘i Data Explorer, a tool to connect users with publicly available data on Hawai‘i household well-being.

Finding the data we need is just one aspect of understanding a problem or issue – making meaning out of the data we find is just as important. Instead of building a traditional data catalog or directory, we wanted to create a platform that enables exploration across household well-being data sources in Hawai‘i.

The Hawai‘i Data Explorer is more than about finding a specific data source – it is about navigating the landscape of data, evidence and local data collaborations, putting data into our local context: what has been done with the data, who collected or compiled the data, who evaluated and/or analyzed the data, and who collaborated in these efforts. Listing evidence such as reports, and dashboards and organizations in the search results alongside data sources makes these relationships more visible, encouraging stronger connections across those working to address Hawai‘i’s important challenges.