Strengthening Hawai‘i’s Data Ecosystem Through Capacity Building and Network Connections

by Nick Redding

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 are reflecting on our theory of change – where we are today, what we aspire to in the year ahead, and how we will get there:

By supporting service-providing organizations to build data capacities – while developing platforms that enable more responsive data communication across these organizations, funders, and higher-level decision makers – the quality, relevance and timeliness of data on household need will increase, leading to a more robust data culture that guides effective decisions toward better outcomes for Hawai‘i’s households and communities.

Two years after pivoting our mission from COVID response to partnerships to build data capacity that supports service providers and improves outcomes for Hawai‘i’s struggling households, we continue to be impressed and inspired by the energy and leadership of our community partners. Here are just a few examples:

The team at Hawai’i Foodbank is embarking on a holistic data system transformation that will result in improved food distribution across O‘ahu and Kaua‘i, while yielding much-needed timely data on food insecurity in the state. 

Parents And Children Together (PACT) is working to bring online a new data insights platform that will centralize all of PACT’s data systems that support their extensive work in early education, family strengthening, domestic violence, behavioral health, and community building, to enable greater opportunities for deeper insights into household need.

At the Hawai‘i Community Foundation, those leading the CHANGE Initiative are building data-guided frameworks and processes to better understand community need across issue areas so they may invest in strategies targeted and tailored to identified opportunities. 

Lastly, the Department of Human Services has partnered with HDC to co-create new ways to use and deploy their data, starting with the launch of an interactive version of the department’s annual databook in early 2024.

In June of this year, we will publish our biennial Data Landscape Report that will highlight stories from the leaders of each of these four initiatives. While our 2022 report sought to capture a breadth of insight across 40 nonprofit, government and philanthropic leaders, this report will dive deep into the wisdom and aspirations of four transformational data leaders in our community. We are incredibly excited to share insights from these leaders, as well as their visions for the future of data for supporting households in need.

HDC remains 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.

Ultimately, by coming alongside leaders across sectors, we seek to strengthen the household support ecosystem with data that yields more effective and adaptive responses to shifting economic conditions. Over the next decade, we envision an ecosystem where local data:

• Guides service providers in deploying and adapting services and resources that best suit the communities they serve, and better equip them to assess the outcomes of their services and adapt programs accordingly.

• Supports coordination across organizations working with similar populations and related issue areas, reducing duplication to make best use of limited resources.

• Guides legislative, executive, and philanthropic priorities by incorporating data and on-the-ground insights into what  is happening in our communities.

We are incredibly grateful to all the organizations and leaders we have had the opportunity to partner with thus far, and look forward to continuing to build data capacities alongside Hawai‘i's data leaders - supporting their work toward better outcomes and sharing their stories. We invite you to follow our journey!