News & Updates

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.

As the Research and Analysis Lead at Hawaiʻi Data Collaborative (HDC), Kendrick Leong works with local organizations to develop actionable insights, contribute to collective understanding, and develop strategies to better address household need. Part storytelling, part hypothesis development and testing, and part contextualization, HDC’s research and analysis support elevates actionable data insights from those working closest to an issue to make a real difference for nonprofits, policy makers, and the people they serve.

In this blog post, Kendrick shares HDC’s research and analysis process that consists of five steps designed to operationalize and maximize the value of available data.

In this new year, we continue to focus on collaborating with service providers, government agencies, and private sector funders working to support Hawai‘i households in need. While 2023 marks the start of our first official post-Covid year, data from a recent Aloha United Way (AUW) report suggests many who were struggling to get by prior to the pandemic may be faring much worse now. AUW conducted their interim study independently due to the lack of local and current data, as national sources we traditionally relied upon for understanding current household need would take years to access, making it difficult to extract insights and make decisions in a timely manner.

For an issue as important as household well-being, we should not be relying primarily on lagging national data sources. In order for data to be relevant, it needs to be timely. Otherwise, how will it guide our leaders to understand and address the unique challenges of households struggling to get by in Hawai‘i today?

Following the release of our first Hawai‘i Data Landscape report in early 2021, we set out to apply what we learned about the data challenges and opportunities to an urgent issue arguably only exacerbated by the pandemic: the struggle of households just trying to get by. Our decision to focus on data for those working to support households and communities in need led us to reach out to leaders across sectors with a guiding question: What are the opportunities for community to enhance its ability to gain and act on data insight to serve households in need?

We welcome you to read our 2022 Report to better understand Hawai‘i’s current data landscape around household need, and how we might move forward using data to work better together.

Effective data collection can help you optimize virtually every aspect of your organization, and it doesn’t necessarily require costly tools, hires, or consultants. From marketing to fundraising to strategic planning, data supports nonprofits in being informed and decisive. The current generation of online survey tools and resources make it easy for nonprofits to enhance and leverage their data collection.

Nick Redding, Executive Director of the Hawai‘i Data Collaborative, joined the Innovation Panel at the 2022 Annual Hawai‘i Book and Music Festival to discuss “The New Data Culture for Hawaiʻi,” highlighting the need for quality, timely data, our over-reliance on lagging national data sources, and how the Ko‘olau Housing Hui demonstrates investing in data capacities serves all stakeholders working to address housing security on the Windward side.

In 2018, Nikki-Ann Yee was living abroad and had never heard of period poverty. And yet, once named and defined, she recognized it affected far too many people who menstruate not only abroad, but also in Hawaiʻi.

When Nikki moved back to the U.S. in 2020 she connected with her two sisters, Brandy-Lee Yee and Jamie-Lee Kapana, over this issue and Maʻi Movement Hawaiʻi was born. Through passion, coalition-building, and data collection, Maʻi Movement went from being an idea to launching a school pilot program, implementing a statewide distribution system, and passing state legislation in less than two years.

Over the past year, through our community partnerships, our team heard a consistent desire for capacity boosts to address organizational data challenges. Oftentimes, the challenge is so great that understanding where to even begin is the biggest barrier! At the Hawai‘i Data Collaborative, we aspire to be a gateway to a full spectrum of data support services to enhance the data capacities of organizations working to support households in need. We welcome you to read this blog post to learn more about how we support our partners in building their internal data capacities to unlock the data insights they need to inform their work.

Earlier this year, we met with Caroline Hayashi, executive director of Waikiki Community Center, to learn about WCC’s work and how well data enables their ability to carry out their mission. Expecting to hear about the data challenges they experience, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that they consider data essential in their ability to do their work. And despite being a small team with limited access to funds, I was fascinated to learn about their commitment to refining and growing their services by employing a very simple data strategy that has continued to serve them well for the past nine years.

Finding the information you need quickly is critical for any organization. A good data management system not only improves efficiency by eliminating manual processes, but also allows organizations to leverage and optimize the use of the data they collect to make decisions and take action. If your organization’s data management processes have become more of a cumbersome distraction to work around rather than a solution to streamline your operations, a data management system could be the solution. This guide will help you choose the right data management system for your organization’s needs.

Whether it's providing health services to vulnerable kupuna in their homes or supporting keiki in classrooms, every organization can benefit from a thoughtful data strategy. Developed thoughtfully, a data strategy weaves data into an organization’s overall strategy and can be key to advancing your organization's mission. It identifies what types of data are important to your organization and how you will capture and evaluate data on an ongoing basis to adapt your services or programs. Over time, this approach to data can even shape your organization’s values, culture, and future strategic direction.