The key themes of this research program are challenges, data, partnerships, and well-being. Communities of interest and of place often face challenges or obstacles that threaten the ability to realize their goals. In many cases, thinking strategically about, and addressing, those challenges is compromised by a lack of data or limited data fluency. In and of themselves, data is rarely the answer, but what good data can do is provide a starting place for shared facts and sound discussions about the future. Usable data give collaborations better odds of success.
Getting usable data, and actionable data insights into the hands of community decision-makers is both a significant challenge and a substantial opportunity. All too often, officials or small groups of decision-makers embark on change initiatives lacking sound data and partnerships that engage key stakeholders to address the concerns of community members. Partnerships that expand the stakeholder map and leverage the experiences and perspectives of real people can substantially improve standard change models.
Our team has been developing and testing new research designs that braid together data science techniques, human-centered design principles, and a suite of social science methods to produce more useful, timely, and actionable data to support communities. We have collaborated with teams in the Community Learning Through Data-Driven Discovery national network to advance science and practice. We partner with state governments, local communities, and non-profit organizations in these efforts, with a driving goal to use data and science to support communities in the rural ecology. With individual, family, and community wellbeing at the heart of this effort, we work to build data systems that enable better measurement and monitoring of individuals, families, and communities and the factors that either improve or diminish wellbeing. Along the way, this research initiative is aimed at building a rich, hyperlocal data infrastructure to support more granular and responsive science in the places where it matters most.