News & Updates

In September 2024, HDC’s Emma Kern attended the National Neighborhood Indicator Partnership (NNIP) Partners’ Meeting in Detroit, Michigan hosted by NNIP partner Data Driven Detroit. From coordinating partner cities and organizations across the country that support local priorities, to recruiting new cities and advancing equity on the national level, NNIP is a growing network of changemakers dedicated to using data to shape strategies and investments so all neighborhoods are places where people can thrive.

Since the release of our latest Data Landscape Report for 2024, we have been inspired by the discussions it has catalyzed and are excited by the energy beginning to develop around building data capacities and data culture for supporting households in need. Mahalo to the Hawai‘i Alliance of Nonprofit Organizations for creating space for a panel discussion on “Data Capacities and Culture in Human Service Organizations” in October at this year’s HANOCON.

Aloha United Way (AUW) has connected Hawaiʻi residents to social services through 211 since 1990 when they transitioned a paper record-based service to an electronic database of over 3,000 health and human service programs across Hawai‘i. Since then, AUW 211 has emerged as an important resource that allows community members to access social services of all kinds. By offering a call line, text, email, live chat, and online access, AUW helps community members in need navigate a service provider landscape that may offer a lot of assistance but can be difficult for many to access on their own.

We are recruiting a Data Visualization Specialist to support our ongoing work to make data in Hawai‘i more accessible, meaningful and relevant for addressing pressing challenges. In this role, you will be responsible for building data visualization and dashboard products across a range of topics and use cases, primarily centered around the domain of household assistance. Hawai‘i Data Collaborative works mostly through partnerships with non-profit, philanthropic and government stakeholders, so this role will necessarily entail collaboration with both internal team members and counterparts in partner organizations.

We are excited to share our latest Data Landscape Report for 2024. Since our last report in 2022, we have partnered with frontline service providers, philanthropic funders, and government stakeholders to address their data challenges by building data capacities for a more insightful and connected data ecosystem. Now in year three of working alongside community partners to build these data capacities, we are releasing this report to highlight the stories of four organizations actively working to transform how they use and share data to improve outcomes for the households they serve, sharing a vision for a thriving data ecosystem.

Nonprofits often lag behind for-profit entities in terms of data capacity and technology access. Lack of general funding and human resources, in addition to programmatic funding and operations structures prioritizing direct services over capacity building are all challenges that nonprofits across the country, including Hawaiʻi service providers, often face. NTEN is an organization that supports nonprofits in leveraging technology to increase impact and equity. Similar to Hawaiʻi Data Collaborative (HDC), NTEN’s focus is on providing capacity-building resources and support to nonprofits rather than offering direct services that address specific issues.

On April 16, 2024, the State of Hawaiʻi Department of Human Services (DHS) launched a new interactive version of their databook. As the largest state department that provides services for Hawai‘i residents across all islands, DHS collects a wealth of data regarding the conditions and needs of communities statewide. The interactive databook – along with the PDF version that will continue to be released annually – will provide valuable aggregated, anonymized, community-specific data so that the public, service providers, and policymakers may make data-guided decisions when it comes to accessing, providing, and funding benefits and services.

Hawai‘i needs more timely, quality, local data to better understand food security and the related challenges of households statewide. Our partners at Hawai‘i Foodbank - the largest food bank in the state - aspire to be a source of this information so that all concerned with supporting households in need have timely information to do so. While they currently track, report and share data on the number of people served and pounds of food distributed, they have identified an opportunity to collect data to better understand the circumstances of those seeking food assistance - data that will inform better responses to food insecurity and related challenges in Hawai‘i.

After taking time to connect and recharge with family and friends at the end of 2023, we at HDC are off to another year of building data capacities for a better Hawai‘i. In starting a new year, we remain committed to building sustained data capacities that will transform not only the work of individual organizations, but over time, the effectiveness of direct household assistance overall. To do so, we will focus on supporting the connections across those working to transform how we understand and support community members struggling to get by in Hawai‘i, while also continuing to engage in direct partnerships with organizations committed to using data to change the household need landscape.

We have unprecedented access to data, but what does it mean to be “data literate”? For those of us who arenʻt trained data scientists, how do we navigate, make meaning, and make choices in a “data-guided” way? According to Kendrick Leong, Research and Analysis Lead at Hawaiʻi Data Collaborative, data literacy starts with knowing where to find data and being able to discern if a source is reputable.

Carol Wear, interim executive director at PATCH, has dedicated over 30 years of her career to the early childhood sector and helping families navigate the child care system. In recent years, however, Wear has witnessed the system become more challenged and strained. While the current shortage is concerning, stakeholders of the early childhood sector, have mobilized to respond to the issue through innovative program design and cross-sector partnerships and collaborations to begin working towards ensuring all children in Hawai‘i have access to quality child care.

Justin Hong began working at the intersection of data and the Native Hawaiian community in 2010. Though he’s observed challenges inherent to cross-sector collaboration as well as barriers to data accessibility over the years, Hong is hopeful given the progress made to date. Looking ahead, Hong sees the potential for further strategic growth and collaboration in the field of Native Hawaiian data and accessibility.

Chancellor Rachel Solemsaas of Hawai’i Community College (HCC) is clear about her priority when it comes to serving students in need: democratizing education. She defines democratizing education as open access, equity, and commitment to success. To make these priorities a reality, we’ve partnered with Chancellor Solemsaas and her team to leverage existing data while also cultivating a data culture at HCC that not only informs decision-making, but teaches students how to be data literate as well.