ECDataWorks

On this episode, Phil Sirinides interviews Missy Coffey about her recent report with co-author Jenna Nguyen, titled "Lessons Learned About ECIDS Teams, Infrastructure, and Composition." With over a decade of experience in the field, Missy discusses the successes and challenges states face when putting together successful ECDIS project teams. Additionally, Missy explains the importance of being specific on the roles, capacity and amount of effort of teams, as states transition from planning to implementation of their early childhood data systems. And in order states to better accomplish their initiatives and goals in early childhood education, Missy and Phil talk about the need to align organizational, human, and technical capacities across the ECIDS teams.

This session presents the benefits and strategies for engaging with university partners to support the use of early childhood data. Anita McGinty (Director of Early Childhood with the Virginia Department of Education) and Erin Carroll (Research Associate Professor with the School of Education in Human Development at the University of Virginia) share their strategies for strong research to practice partnership in Virginia's early childhood data effort.

While sharing data is an important goal, the most vital aspect of early childhood integrated data system (ECIDS) analytics is usefulness. How do your analytics make it easier for policymakers, practitioners, and other stakeholders to effectively use data in their work? Will they lead to positive changes that meet the needs of your communities and address long-standing challenges for children and families? As many in the ECIDS field have already learned, progress toward those goals can be difficult to measure. In this episode, ECDataWorks co-principal investigators Missy Coffey (SRI International) and Phil Sirinides (Penn State Harrisburg) talk with state and national leaders about the importance of identifying appropriate indicators of ECIDS analytics success, and strategies to monitor and drive progress on ECIDS project teams. Guests include Steven Matherly, Health Program Coordinator with the Utah Department of Health; Richard Gonzales, Preschool Development Grant project manager with the US Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families; Anita Larson, Director of Research, Planning and Evaluation and former ECIDS lead for the Minnesota Department of Education; and Jennifer Verbrugge, ECIDS lead for the Minnesota Department of Education. Part of the ECDataWorks Community initiative, produced with support from the Heising-Simons Foundation.

Many factors can influence the success of an childhood integrated data system (ECIDS), and one of the most crucial is its positionality within a state. Which agency serves as technical host? Which partner agencies perform which roles, and which staff should contribute to a particular initiative? How do teams share ownership, to ensure that all stakeholders have a voice and remain equally committed over the course of a project? In this episode, ECDataWorks co-principal investigators Missy Coffey (SRI International) and Phil Sirinides (Penn State Harrisburg) speak with three state and national experts about their experiences in the ECIDS field, and offer some time-tested strategies for positioning an ECIDS for success. Guests include: Adelia Jenkins, Executive Director of Actionable Intelligence for Social Policy; Bentley Ponder, Deputy Commissioner for Quality Innovations and Partnerships with Georgia's Department of Early Care and Learning; and Rebecca Gomez, Program Officer in Education with the Heising-Simons Foundation. Part of the ECDataWorks Community initiative, produced with support from the Heising-Simons Foundation.

Many who work in the Early Childhood Integrated Data Systems (ECIDS) field have experience engaging stakeholders in the planning of an ECIDS or an analytic tool. Those approaches to engagement may no longer be beneficial, however, when teams begin to focus on policy or systems work. Typical strategies - like engaging stakeholders early and often or including a broad, diverse range of voices - can lead to frustration and fatigue during the slow, difficult effort to brings systems and tools to fruition. In this episode, ECDataWorks co-principal investigators Missy Coffey (SRI International) and Phil Sirinides (Penn State Harrisburg) speak with two early childhood data leaders about their experiences building community engagement in Texas, and their recommendations for ECIDS teams across the country. Guests include: Howard Morrison, early childhood technical assistance specialist at SRI International and former statewide coordinator for the Texas Education Agency; and Jennifer Martinez, consultant with the Texas Education Service Center, 20. Part of the ECDataWorks Community initiative, produced with support from the Heising-Simons Foundation.

Early childhood integrated data systems (ECIDS) sail on notoriously rough seas. From staffing changes and piecemeal funding to technology modernization and shifting state priorities, change is all too often the standard operating condition for most ECIDS leads and project teams. Strong data systems must be built to be resilient to those changes. In a series of interviews with state and national leaders, ECDataWorks co-principal investigators Missy Coffey (SRI International) and Phil Sirinides (Penn State Harrisburg) discuss some common challenges for the ECIDS field and share some valuable recommendations for leaders and staffers hoping to chart a smoother path for their own organizations. Guests include: Steven Matherly, Health Program Coordinator with the Utah Department of Health; Richard Gonzales, Preschool Development Grant (PDG) Project Manager for the US Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families; Anita Larson, Director of Research, Planning and Evaluation and former ECIDS lead for the Minnesota Department of Education; and Jennifer Verbrugge, ECIDS lead for the Minnesota Department of Education. Part of the ECDataWorks Community initiative, produced with support from the Heising-Simons Foundation.

In the first episode of the new ECDataWorks podcast series, we dive into the history and evolution of early childhood integrated data systems (ECIDS) in the United States. Phil Sirinides (Penn State University - Harrisburg) and Missy Coffey (SRI International) host interviews with some of the national leaders who have been instrumental in the establishment and funding of ECIDS systems over the last decade. Guests include Richard Gonzales, Preschool Development Grant project manager with the US Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families; Albert Wat, senior policy director with the Alliance for Early Success; and Tate Gould, former senior program officer for the Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems Grant Program. They share their personal experiences in the ECIDS field and offer some important lessons-learned for states, organizations and other early childhood stakeholders working to improve their own systems in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Part of the ECDataWorks Community initiative, produced with support from the Heising-Simons Foundation.