The Coleridge Initiative's 3rd Annual National Convening highlighted the transformative potential of collaborations among government agencies and researchers that use linked administrative data to produce actionable insights to improve government programs. The first day of the conference, March 27th, was reserved for an invitation-only meeting beginning at 1:30 PM ET for the Multi-State Data Collaboratives.

States play a critical role in building evidence to improve the impact of federal programs administered at the state and local levels, and should be partners in creating the evidence-building ecosystems needed to leverage federal and state data in ways that benefit constituents, improve programs, and inform policy. This year's conference was intended to spark interest and continue to build upon the interest of federal, state, and private sector organizations to work together to harness the rich government administrative and statistical data as well as private sector data to answer important policy questions. The three-day event featured sessions developed in partnership with the National Association of State Workforce Agencies (NASWA), the National Governors Association (NGA), and the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO). Sessions highlighted state and federal projects working with linked data, state data products being used to inform policy, and the impact of the Democratizing our Data Challenge. Funded by philanthropic organizations, the Democratizing our Data Challenge gave states an opportunity to develop data products and collaborate across jurisdictions through the Multi-State Data Collaboratives. The convening also featured a panel session with leading members in the data community focused on the unique position of states to leverage their data while also collaborating with federal, private, and academic data.

Join leaders from across the country for the Multi-state Data Collaboratives: From Projects to Products to Practice. This year’s convening is a response to the success of the First Annual National Convening in March 2021, the overwhelmingly positive response to the Democratizing our Data Challenge, and the rapid expansion of multi-state data collaboratives.

There is an urgent need for timely, locally relevant, data and evidence that can be used to respond to the changes in the pandemic economy, particularly for low-income learners and workers, at-risk youth, underrepresented minorities, immigrants, and formerly incarcerated individuals. New information can inform policies about investments in education and training, student debt, as well as welfare and corrections programs. Federal, philanthropic, and state partnerships have led to new projects, products, and practice for evidence building. The results are being used by many state Departments of Labor, Education and Human Services. At the National Convening, attendees will both learn about current and proposed projects and products and help set priorities for the future. In partnership with the National Association of State Workforce Agencies and State Higher Education Executive Officers Association, the Multi-state Data Collaboratives: From Projects to Products to Practice convening will introduce the regional collaboratives that are creating networks with national reach across agency and state lines. The convening will showcase the value of new products that have recently been made possible through philanthropic foundations, federal investment, and state agencies including state Departments of Labor, Education, and Human Services, and highlight new and potential partnerships, projects and products that are moving to national scale this year. The convening will also allow us to demonstrate how new approaches can be used to inform equitable decision-making.

Join leaders from across the country, representing state and federal governments, as well as philanthropic foundations and professional associations, for a dynamic two-day workshop celebrating success and mapping a strategy to grow data access, stewardship, and analysis for evidence-based policymaking.

The convening will highlight the demonstrated success of a collaboration of state workforce agencies and universities across the country, as well as tangible evidence about the value of state and federal data, and build sustainable state data infrastructure through partnerships and national support. The current COVID-19 outbreak and the resulting employment crisis have made it clear: state and local data are key to understanding and responding to local social and economic challenges. While state data systems end at state borders, there is massive potential to develop the cross-state infrastructure needed to collect, mine and use administrative data; share evidence-based practices; and establish common measures and research tools. LEARN how states have worked together to develop regional collaboratives around a framework of training, shared products, data standards and governance. SHARE your expertise and insights to the development of a national agenda and a sustainable, locally driven, national data infrastructure. GROW the community of data-oriented, evidence-based policymakers and program administrators. ACCELERATE data-driven research and policies supporting program management, policy development, and scholarly research.