Hartford Data Collaborative
The Hartford Data Collaborative (HDC) facilitates data sharing among local nonprofits, government agencies, and foundations. By combining and integrating their data, HDC supports these organizations in better understanding the needs of Hartford residents and encourages data-informed decision making. HDC started in 2019 and is run by the Connecticut Data Collaborative, with input from community members.
Youth and community data systems face systemic challenges that limit their impact:
Many nonprofits and community members lack the skills needed to interpret data effectively.
There are no clear incentives for organizations to produce high-quality data or reporting.
Youth voices are often excluded from decisions that directly impact them.
Communities often don’t trust institutions because data is collected without transparency about how it will be used.
There is no coordinated system for defining shared goals for youth or measuring success at a population level.
Agencies are required to submit the same data in different formats to multiple funders, resulting in unnecessary costs and inefficiencies.
“Agencies give data but don’t get anything back”
Building a complex data puzzle together, ethically and permissibly.
PROJECTS
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The Re-Entry Welcome Center (RWC) opened in 2018 with a mission to welcome individuals returning home with support, resources, and referrals. HDC's data integration work supports the evaluation of the first three years of the Center, to assess what is working well and to what extent participant outcomes are achieved.ription
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UNITY programs are funded by the City of Hartford to engage children and youth after the COVID-19 pandemic. All providers that receive over $5,000 in City funds are required to join the Hartford Data Collaborative (HDC).
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The Hartford Youth Data Fellowship is a program for Hartford youth ages 17-24 that provides them with the tools and experience they need to engage and analyze data about their communities. The program is managed by CT Data Collaborative through the Hartford Data Collaborative (HDC), a network of Hartford area non-profit organizations, government agencies, and philanthropic partners that facilitates data sharing and integration among its partners.
HDC partners with schools and youth-serving organizations in Hartford to recruit youth to participate in a five-month after-school program with workshops about data literacy, analysis, and visualizations. Youth serve as co-researchers to share their lived experience growing up in Hartford and its impact on their development in their data insights. The fellowship program addresses a need for increased data literacy among residents, provides Hartford youth with career development opportunities, and allows them to create a data project that can be part of their resume or portfolio.
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Integration of data from multiple providers of services to opportunity youth in Hartford to develop a systems-level understanding of the services provided, the characteristics of youth served, and the outcomes of those services. This project advances the efforts of the Hartford Opportunity Youth Collaborative to provide a comprehensive picture of Opportunity Youth in Hartford.
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HDC is part of a five year, multi-partner, cross-sector effort designed to improve the lives of children in North Hartford under a new $30 million dollar grant from the U.S. Department of Education. The Ascend Pipeline will serve as a comprehensive prenatal through career effort designed to help children in North Hartford reach their full potential by improving academic outcomes, developmental trajectories, long-term well-being, and quality of life. Led by Connecticut Children’s Office for Community Child Health, HDC collaborates with the City of Hartford, Hartford Public Schools, the University of Hartford and additional partners as part of the Data & Evaluation Team. HDC will facilitate the ethical and permissible sharing of data; streamline existing data-sharing processes; link siloed data sets; and improve data transparency among providers and residents.
CONTACT US
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Contact Kate for questions about:
State agency relationships
Public & philanthropic support for HDC
The Greater Hartford Re-Entry Welcome Center and its evaluation
Hartford Youth Researchers
HDC committees and governance structure
HDC project ideas
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Contact Geethika for questions about:
Hartford Opportunity Youth project
Hartford Student Internship Project
Hartford Unity Project
North Hartford Ascend Pipeline Project
Data capacity building opportunities
Non-profit partnerships
HDC Data Reporting
HDC Data Dictionary