DAAD Conference Presentation May 18, 2016

Transcription

1 DAAD Cnference Presentatin May 18, 2016 Data Analytics fr the Nnprfit and Gvernment Agencies in Scial Services and Educatin Lawrence Brks My talk differs frm ther presenters in that I will nt describe sme accmplishment nr talk s much abut what we learned but rather what we haven t. My qualificatins include: President elect f the sciety f St. Vincent de Paul and a vlunteer fr 28 years. This means visiting the pr, in their hmes, in ZIP Cdes 14207, 14211, 14215, cntaining sme f the prest census tracts in the regin. Authr f a bk, Buffal Niagara: Diagnsis and Prescriptin fr Change, part ne f which is a state f the regin reprt, fr which I spent nearly 2 years in research. What is the state f the city and the regin? In terms f human capital, the state f the health f the regin s ppulatin is belw state and natinal averages. The Rbert Wd Jhnsn fundatin reprts that Erie and Niagara cunties are tw f the unhealthiest cunties in New Yrk State; In terms f scial capital, by many indicatrs including critical marriage and family indicatrs the regin s scial capital is belw state and natinal averages. Scientists are piling n the evidence that there is a link between an individual s scial supprt system and his health. The prer ne s scial netwrk, the prer ne s health; in terms f ecnmic capital, it is a well-publicized fact that the city f Buffal is the third prest city in the cuntry. Here t scientists are piling n evidence linking ecnmic stress with health prblems; Erie Cunty receives 40% f the immigrant and refugee resettlements in New Yrk State despite having nly abut 6% f the state s ppulatin. This is because the federal gvernment subsidizes many f these resettlements and they get mre bang fr their buck in Erie Cunty then they wuld dwnstate r in the capital regin. Plus there is a substantial netwrk f nnprfit scial service agencies here. The federal gvernment gives lcal nnprfits funding t help with resettlement expenses but there is a time and mnetary limit and when that runs ut, if the client is nt financially self-sufficient, they turn t charitable institutins fr further assistance. All f this puts a burden n nnprfits and gvernment agencies and is clearly mre f a burden in this regin than a majrity f metrplitan areas acrss the cuntry. We ve gt these measurements but we really dn t knw why there is pverty? Our nnprfit cmmunity is at the basic level f data cllectin and we ve nly dipped ur tes, s t speak, in diagnstic analysis. We need t prgress tward

2 predictive and prescriptive stages. Of curse we knw the general answers lack f access t jbs and jb training access t affrdable husing and affrdable child care better public transit, etc. but what f the details? What des it mean? We already have prgrams fr these things why aren t they wrking? I asked Sam Magavern, cdirectr f the Partnership fr the Public Gd, abut ne measurement f scial capital. I asked him hw d yu measure that? And he replied, hw d we measure it? I dn t think we ve ever tried t measure it with numbers. S at this pint, we dn t d that in a very structured way. We have a sense f it frm the wrk were ding but is it strng r weak in a particular area? We dn t have a structured way t measure that at this pint. The Oishei fundatin, a private fundatin, did a remarkable thing. They tk sme f their mney and, instead f spending it funding ther rganizatins prjects, they spent it n data cllectin and analysis. They did a series f cmmunity assessment by neighbrhd in Erie and Niagara cunties. I d like t fcus n the East side where the Oishei Mbile safety net team did an assessment. The mst remarkable thing, t me, is the fact that in that neighbrhd s ppulatin f 145,000 peple there are apprximately 13,000 scial service prviders. That s a rati f 11 peple t ne service prvider. We pur a lt f mney and resurces int that neighbrhd. S why is there still pverty? Why aren t we making better prgress? This team surveyed residents in service prviders and asked them these questins. Amng the many answers were we need mre. D we? Is this a case f perceptin ver reality? We have many ther resurces: The United Way f Buffal and Erie Cunty did a cmmunity assessment reprt in The reprt cllected a lt f data n human and scial capital and prvides sme analysis but the United Way des nt have the resurces t update this reprt n an annual basis. They recently launched a cmmunity reprt card series which will be an annual lk at prblems in the regin. The first ne dealt with childhd besity, a single issue, and it s mre f a snapsht than an nging measurement and analysis f the prblem. Cathlic Charities, the largest human services rganizatin utside f gvernment, helps almst 132,000 peple in need and purs all its resurces int delivery f services but des nt cllect r analyze data delivers services n the basis f requests frm the cmmunity. They are smart experienced peple

3 sme are certified scial wrkers but like Sam Magavern said, they have a sense f it frm the wrk they are ding but is it strng r weak in a particular area? They d nt knw the size f the need r the effectiveness f their prgrams. In Erie Cunty, the Department f Scial Services ffers many, many types f assistance. Fr instance, a single mther with children can qualify fr fur types f assistance fr fd and yet vlunteers at the sciety f St. Vincent de Paul encunters single mthers visit dining rms, like urs, and als fd pantries. Why is that? Is it that the federal prgrams r insufficient? We d nt knw. The seventh annual pverty wrkshp was recently presented and this is a cllabratin f several area grups. This year, the presenters came frm tw area clleges, the Buffal public schls, and a cuple f nnprfits. One presentatin described the first data cllectin n yuth 18 t 30 hmelessness. This is pineering in useful but much mre is needed. It s nt all bad news: When I researched my bk, the Cmmunity Fundatin fr Greater Buffal Oishei fundatin and the United Way all had psitins fr title called knwledge management fficer. These peple were all abut cllecting data n their fcus areas and keeping their rganizatins infrmed n what s ging n in their fcus areas. This is a step in the right directin but these peple d nt have the training that the prfessinal science Masters in this rm in data analysis. And there is a new nnprfit, Open Buffal, a part f a natinal initiative frm the Open Sciety Fundatin, trying t create an urban labratry fr prgressive change. This natinal mney will cme t Buffal t add mre researchers t prject. What d nnprfits and gvernment agencies need? We need mre data and data analytics Scientific American article: lk at the subtitle: Mney and gd intentins are nt enugh t fight pverty effectively. We als need data abut what wrks and what desn t. This article is abut micrlans. Under intense analysis the authr a Yale University ecnmics prfessr cntends that micrlans d nt imprve financial well-being and he calls fr mre evidence-based scial service prgrams.

4 The Partnership fr The Public Gd is a nnprfit trying t build a mre just, sustainable, and culturally vibrant cmmunity thrugh actin riented research, plicy develpment, and citizen engagement. Their research cvers a range f reprts, plicy briefs, fact sheets, and ther resurces n plicy issues affecting Buffal. With regards t plicy develpment, PBG wrks with its partners and gvernment fficials t craft and advance plicies that serve the public gd. Their cdirectr Sam Magavern gave me this list f their data needs. I wn t read it t yu but just take a few secnds and read it t yurselves. Fr all the data we already cllect, this agency knws they have t cllect mre. I interviewed Sam Magavern fr my bk and their grup started because they saw decisins getting made by gvernment withut a lt f high quality research and small cmmunity grups lacking resurces t d that. S their cncept was fr a cmmunity based think tank t d research and advcacy. Anther key part was t tap int resurces amng students and faculty wh have t d research and writing fr credit r fr pay and wuld like it t be useful but aren t plugged in in a way that they can make it really useful fr Buffal. Why aren t we ding it? What are the challenges? If I inspired yu and yu want t help us wrk n this prblem, yu re ging t have t d it fr free because we dn t have any mney t pay yu. Unlike the private sectr, there are n are in the funds in the budget fr nnprfits t d research and develpment. Nnprfits have t rely n funding frm fundatins and individuals. Thse funders prefer t have all f their dnatins g directly t prviding services, smething tangible. This is why mst funding is restricted and the greatest success fr a nnprfit is when they ask fr funds fr a specific purpse. Fr instance, ne f the rganizatins in which I serve n the bard is cnsiderable success raising funds fr specific prject but the appeals were general membership fr unrestricted funds fr perating purpses receives a much lwer respnse.

5 Nw the gvernment, especially the federal gvernment, realizes that this is a critical need fr ur sciety. And they are willing t fund well-cnstructed prgrams t cllect and analyze data. But there are several prblems with securing this funding. First, we have n in-huse expertise. Mst f the peple in this rm are very specially trained t d data analysis and d nnprfits simply cannt affrd t hire ne fr staff. Which means that we wuld have t frm a partnership with smene in rder t apply fr federal funds. Many scial service nnprfits have dne s but then we encunter a secnd prblem which is says that the field is very cmpetitive. The third prblem ccurs with changes in the federal gvernment and their pririties. I used t wrk fr anther nnprfit the envirnmental grup Buffal Niagara River keeper. We used t, effective rganizatin still des, apply fr funding frm the Great Lakes restratin initiative fund. Every year, in the request fr prpsals, the EPA, the hst agency, wuld list specific pririties fr that year. And the grants they deliver usually were fr nly three years. The next year, pririties change. S yur prject wuld have t be realized within three years which made it very difficult t create a prgram that required nging mnitring and maintenance. Slving a particular prblem within pverty might take an entire generatin, but the federal gvernment is typically unwilling t find smething fr mre than just a few years. Lw perating margins fr nnprfits are a key indicatr f the quality f that nnprfit and hw effective it is. Fr instance, the perating margin fr the sciety f St. Vincent de Paul is nly 10.9 %. Many charity rating agencies such as Charity Watch use cmplex frmulas t give charities a grade f A thrugh F. Their frmula includes a measurement f the % ttal expenses spent n charitable prgrams in the amunt spent n verhead, fundraising, and general. An additinal prblem results frm hw t cllect data? Privacy, persnal issues, and a difficult ppulatin mean that it s mre difficult t cllect data here than say in the private sectr f business r in science. The St. Vincent de Paul dining rm serves ver 100,000 meals per year and wuld be a tremendus pprtunity fr cllecting data frm the peple visit there fr meals. But thse clients wuld be very suspicius, and even inhibited, frm having a stranger apprach them and begin t ask questins abut their persnal lives. Fr data analysis, this is largely uncharted territry, kind f like the New Wrld when the first Eurpeans arrived. This might excite yu because it s a wide-pen field fr yu t d riginal wrk. If yu feel inspired and yu have sme suggestins fr us, please reach ut t me at this address: larrybrks_50@msn.cm Questins? Larry Brks