News & Updates
Building Data Capacity to Transform How We Fight Hunger in Hawai‘i
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.
“The New Data Culture for Hawaiʻi” Discussed at the 2022 Hawaiʻi Book and Music Festival
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.
Understanding Household Need: Our Data Support Tools & Resources
At the Hawai‘i Data Collaborative, one of our core priorities is improving data accessibility. As our state works to recover from the far-reaching economic impacts of the COVID pandemic, those working to support Hawai‘i's households in need of assistance need access to relevant and timely data now more than ever. Recognizing this need, we have developed a suite of tools and resources that make data more accessible for communities, non-profits, policymakers and other working to support Hawai‘i's households struggling to get by.
Aloha United Way and Hawai‘i Data Collaborative Launch Enhanced 211 Dashboard
Aloha United Way (AUW), in partnership with Hawai‘i Data Collaborative, upgraded the data system supporting the 211 Program to ensure the data collected are accurate, and can be reliably leveraged to understand the areas in which Hawai‘i residents are struggling with in near real-time. With the upgrade complete and the data platform stabilized, we are excited to announce the launch of an enhanced AUW 211 Dashboard.
ALICE Conversation Series: Our Friends, Neighbors and ‘Ohana
On June 24, 2021, Aloha United Way (AUW) kicked off their ALICE Conversation Series with the first event “ALICE - Our Friends, Neighbors and ‘Ohana.” AUW’s community partners shared how they’re working to support ALICE, including Feed the Hunger Fund, Kokua Kalihi Valley, Parents and Children Together, and Waikiki Community Center. Nick Redding, Executive Director of Hawai‘i Data Collaborative (HDC), was also invited to present HDC’s work of filling timely data gaps so that those working to help ALICE can keep pace with the needs of ALICE as it evolves over time.
A Report on Hawai‘i’s Data & Evidence Landscape
We are excited to share a report that summarizes what the Hawai‘i Data Collaborative has learned directly, and indirectly through interviews with key stakeholders, about the the data landscape in Hawai‘i, offering a guide to moving forward. Our sincere hope is that this report catalyzes the collective and collaborative effort needed to foster a thriving data culture, ready to confront the challenges of 2021 and beyond.
Behind the Data Scenes: Partnering to Build a Robust 211 Data Resource
Shortly after the first case of coronavirus in Hawai‘i was confirmed, and residents were unsure how public health mitigation efforts to limit the spread would impact our local economy, our team focused on addressing the need for timely data in order to understand how households would be impacted and what support they would need.
Aloha United Way’s (AUW) 211 Helpline appeared to be a good place for us to start. AUW welcomed us to peer behind the curtain and gain a better understanding of the 211 system. What we observed was a system containing several fragmented components, fraught with unreliable data flows and prone to human error, immediately raising data integrity concerns. Though we started with an interest in 211 data as a timely data source, if the system supporting the data wasn’t reliable, then how reliable and useful would the data itself be? It was clear that the first challenge to address was upgrading the 211 system.