Nomination Deadline: May 15, 2026

The TANF Data Collaborative 2.0 (TDC 2.0) is seeking nominations from interested state and local TANF agencies to participate in the TDC 2.0 Applied Data Analytics (ADA) training.

The TDC 2.0 ADA training is offered at no cost and will provide participating agency teams an opportunity to build their data analytic capacity through expert-led instruction, self-guided learning, and the completion of a data analysis project using TANF and other administrative data. The training is intended to increase teams’ capacity to routinely use data to inform policy and practice in order to improve outcomes for individuals and families. The training is sponsored by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) and will be led by Coleridge and its TDC 2.0 partners— MDRC, National Opinion Research Center (NORC) at the University of Chicago, and Actionable Intelligence for Social Policy (AISP) at the University of Pennsylvania. 

Course Details

Teams will participate in the 23-week virtual training from June 17, 2026 to November 18, 2026, using a "learning by doing" approach. The ADA training equips public sector staff with practical analytical and coding skills using modern data tools to better inform policy and practice. Teams will work with real administrative data provided by the state of Arkansas inside Coleridge’s secure Administrative Data Research Facility (ADRF). Participants will not be required to use or bring the data from their agency into the ADRF. The training will be delivered through a combination of self-guided learning, expert-led instruction, and team-based data analysis projects:

• First 4 weeks: Four self-paced units introducing concepts, each with a one-hour weekly support session.
• Next 12 weeks: Weekly two-hour virtual sessions, with the first hour for lectures and the second for guided project work. Sessions will be held on Wednesdays during work hours.
• The course includes breaks and dedicated time for collaboration and making progress on team-based project.
• Each team will be required to present their data analysis project and submit a final report at the end of the course. The final report will document the team’s analyses and findings. The report will be shared with Arkansas to offer insights on their TANF program. Lessons and findings may also be relevant to the team’s own TANF program.

The course is designed for all skill levels. Whether the team is new to data or comfortable coding, the course is structured to be challenging, yet accessible. Participants will learn how to:

• Scope realistic projects based on available data
• Translate transactional records into meaningful analytic units
• Reconstruct participant experiences as they move on and of the TANF program
• Define, test, and refine measures that reflect program dynamics

By the end of the course, participants will have:

• A better understanding of how to work with state’s administrative data
• Reusable code to generate analytical reports and support ongoing analysis

Course Timeline

Nomination Information    

Interested agencies may self-nominate or, with their consent, be nominated by their research partners (such as a university or organization). Examples of relevant information to provide in the nomination statement (250-word limit) include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Names and roles of proposed team members
• Brief description of team members’ skills in areas such as policy, data analytics, and coding
• Short statement on why the team is interested in participating
• Current agency goals that align with and would benefit from the ADA training

Coleridge and project partners intend to select up to five teams of 4-6 individuals who represent a balanced mix of policy, research, and technical expertise. Team members may include individuals from partner agencies or other organizations (such as university-based researchers or multi-agency data partners), but the team lead(s) must be TANF agency staff. At least two team members should have programming or analytic skills (R and/or SQL) to support hands-on data work.

Nominations submitted to tdc-training@coleridge.us by May 15, 2026 will be considered.  

Selection Announcement: June 1, 2026

Course Kick-off: June 8, 2026

Additional Information and Links

Coleridge’s Applied Data Analytics Training

TANF Data Collaborative Approach

TANF Data Collaborative 2.0 

Questions?  For questions about the TDC 2.0 projects, please email Melissa Wavelet at melissa.wavelet@mdrc.org. For questions about the ADA training, please email tdc-training@coleridge.us