Building a Community Data Ecosystem

Because of the pandemic, society at large—the social sector included—is employing more digital tools than ever before to help get work done. And while many organizations have come a long way since 2020, there are still many challenges that exist when it comes to managing data at the community level, which makes it more difficult for community-based organizations (CBOs) to improve residents’ lives and influence beneficial social change.

In this article, Building a Community Data Ecosystem in Austin, Social Solutions and our partner in the Austin community, Mission Capital, explore the challenges CBOs face related to accessing and analyzing relevant data, why building a community data ecosystem will help inform and improve programs, and how we can band together to make a community data ecosystem a reality.

We pull in perspectives from local Austin CBOs, including Capital IDEA, Foundation Communities, MEASURE and United Way for Greater Austin, share an example of a purpose-built community data ecosystem and invite you to help build a public list of resources to help other CBOs on their data journey.

Whatever community you are in, this information will spark ideas on how to address obstacles and band together to reach your goals.