Sustaining the Ongoing Work of the Data System

1. Sustaining the Ongoing Work of the Data System • March 10-11, 2015 • Bill Huennekens, SLDS State Support Team • Jeff Sellers, SLDS State Support Team • Melissa Mack, WDQI Technical Assistance • Missy Cochenour, SLDS State Support Team • Steve Duarte, SLDS State Support Team

2. Introductions

3. Introduce Yourself to Three New People Find a person who is not from your state, introduce yourself, and ask them: How long was your trip to get here? Is there snow in your state right now? What is your college mascot, or what is your favorite college mascot? You have six minutes to meet three new people. 6 mins

4. Goals for this Session Understand the difference between a project and a program, and how to move the data system from a project to a program Review strategies and share best practices that states have used to sustain their data systems by moving into programs Discuss the role of communications in sustaining a data system Explore how to spread the use of your data system

5. Sustainability Framework

6. What Makes a System Sustainable?

7. Return on Investment: • Are You Defining, • Measuring, Recording, • and Demonstrating Success?

8. Financial Support: • How Strong Is • the Financial Support • for Your Data System?

9. Stakeholder Support: • How Broad and Deep Is • the Stakeholder Support • for Your System?

10. Ensuring Widespread Use: • How Widely Used Is • the Data System?

11. Planning for Sustainability When do you need to start planning for sustainability? What is the value of including system enhancements as part of the sustainability plan? What does it mean that the development of these data systems “never ends”? How do you transition from a project to a program?

12. Transitioning from Project to Program Special Considerations and Strategies When does the project end? What are the differences between sustaining a grant project (data system) versus a traditional program? What strategies can be adopted for a traditional program to ensure success?

13. Transitioning from Project to Program End of Project • When does a project really end?

14. Transitioning from Project to Program Projects end Programs endure ∞

15. Sustainability for a • Traditional Program • versus a Data System

16. Program vs. Data System Sustainability Basic Strategies for Sustainability in a Data System Understand internal and external factors • Ensure goals and objectives are reviewed and modified based on new requirements Funding stability • Seek to diversify funding sources Program evaluation Ensure “data system” is included as part of the agency and/or state yearly strategic plan

17. Program vs. Data System Sustainability Basic Strategies for Sustainability in a Traditional Program • Review internal and external factors that influence the program • Funding stability • Program evaluation • Strategic planning

18. Program vs. Data System Sustainability How does a grant project evolve into a program? • Funding cycles end • Sustainability guides the evolution What role does change management play in this transition? • Change management needs to be adopted to help transition teams and capture new requirements, and ultimately to help retain stakeholder support

19. Consideration 1: • Return on investment • Demonstrating the value of your data system • to obtain funds for budgeting • once federal grant funds expire

20. Program vs. Data System Sustainability How can a data system be a resource for program sustainability? How can the need for program sustainability facilitate data system sustainability? What steps are needed for these sustainability efforts to complement each other? How can these efforts demonstrate value and ROI for a data system?

21. Overview of Strategies • Distinguish between traditional program sustainability and data system sustainability • Determine the total cost of ownership and the responsibility, authority, and key personnel needed to sustain the data system • Use and leverage funds: Integrating other program data can support sustainability because federal funding sources can be used to support integration and use of the data

22. Strategy 1: Program vs. Data System Sustainability Program Sustainability • Demonstrated impact on learning • Clarity of outcomes • Alignment of resources • Accountability for results

23. Strategy 1: Program vs. Data System Sustainability Program Sustainability • Capacity • Performance management • Reform impact • Public value How can the data system demonstrate value and ROI to support program sustainability?

24. Strategy 2: Define Total Cost of Ownership Total Cost of Ownership considerations include Hardware • Hosting • Maintenance and support Software and applications Staffing • Quantity (enough staff are available) • Quality (staff are adequately trained and equipped) Ongoing enhancements

25. Strategy 3: Use and Leverage federal funds Examples of federally funded education programs: • Head Start • Title I • Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) • Title II (educator preparation) • Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) • Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) How can the data system demonstrate value and ROI to support these or other federal and state programs?

26. GoGo Activity Return on Investment: Demonstrating value of your data system to obtain funds for budgeting once federal grant funds expire Tailor this to be a specific challenge in your state. What is a potential strategy from your state? 5 mins

27. Consideration 2: • Financial Support • Staffing and human resources

28. Overview of Strategies • Plan ahead for changes in staffing and knowledge management (knowledge transfer) • Attract and retain personnel • Identify how authority, management, operations, and key personnel are allocated for an integrated data system

29. Strategy 1: Plan Ahead for Knowledge Transfer Identify key players • Fewer technical staff, more program involvement Knowledge management As the transition occurs from project to program, determine what staffing changes will occur, what kinds of knowledge transfer will need to be planned, and how to attract and retain qualified staff. Note: Special attention should be paid to identifying tacit knowledge that key personnel may have

30. Strategy 2: Attract and Retain Personnel • Offer growth opportunities • Ensure good communication • Clearly outline expectations • Announce successof the program to attract talent • Cross-train individuals

31. Strategy 3: Identify operational needs How are authority, management, operations, and key personnel allocated for the data system? • Who is in charge? • Prove your documented procedures • Offer continuous training

32. GoGo Activity Financial Support: Staffing and human resources Tailor this to be a specific challenge in your state. What is a potential strategy from your state? 5 mins

33. Consideration 3: • Stakeholder Support • Communication activities to promote sustainability

34. Overview of Strategies • Create effective communication tools • Purpose and vision one-pager activity • Elevator speeches • Communicate the total cost of ownership and return on investment • Share examples across states

35. Strategy 1: Create Effective communication tools Stakeholder engagement is often a long-term effort. A one-pager can be used and updated overtime to communicate how the data system will support the users. Obtain buy-in early so that stakeholders are excited and want to keep the effort moving forward Examples of communication tools: • ECIDS One-Page Overview for External Audiences • Elevator Speeches • Everyone on Board: Engaging Reluctant Stakeholders and Stakeholders Experiencing Leadership Transitions Can your stakeholders communicate the vision of the data system?

36. Strategy 2: Communicate TCO and ROI Numbers speak. Quick facts may save your effort when budgets are tight • Example:Measuringand Documenting ROI webinar recording and summary Do you know what your data system will cost to maintain? Do you know what your data system has allowed your state to do better? Can you quantify the return?

37. Strategy 3: Share examples across states • Learning across states helps to move the work more quickly and engage with stakeholders earlier in the effort. • Don’t recreate the wheel. If there are existing tools that are appropriate to your state, ask the creator if you can use and customize them. • Listen to the advice of states that have moved the work from a grant project to an ongoing effort. • Examples: Sustainability Toolkit

38. GoGo Activity Stakeholder Support: Communications activities to promote sustainability Tailor this to be a specific challenge in your state. What is a potential strategy from your state? 5 mins

39. Consideration 4: • Ensuring Widespread • Use of the Data System

40. Ensuring Widespread Use of the Data System Why do we want to ensure the widespread use of a data system? How does widespread use sustain the ongoing work of the data system? Does widespread use of a data system have a role in any of the following? • Financial support • Staffing and human resources • Communication activities • Data quality

41. Overview of Strategies • Integrate additional programs • Expand the use of the data system

42. Strategy I: Integrate Additional Programs Approaches for integrating additional program data Build upon existing data governance Provide an opportunity to review areas initially determined to be out of the data system’s scope • Examples: IDEA Part B 619 or Part C data Provide an opportunity to review data sources or reports initially not included for budget reasons Think proactively • Tie the data system to new legislative proposals • Make the data system critical to new agency head’s priority

43. Strategy I: Integrate Additional Programs Programs and tools for integrating additional program data • Center for the Integration of IDEA Data (CIID) • Common Education Data Standards

44. Strategy 2: Expand the Use of the Data System Use the CEDS tools to explore and expanding the use of the data system Align • Cross-state data exchange, GA SEED Connect / myConnect • Chronic Absenteeism • EDFacts Connections

45. GoGo Activity Ensuring Widespread Use Tailor this to be a specific challenge in your state. What is a potential strategy from your state? 5 mins

46. GoGo Activity • What are some potential strategies from other states to address your challenges?

47. Contacts Contact information: Bill Huennekens, bill.huennekens@aemcorp.com Jeff Sellers, jeff.sellers@sst-slds.org Melissa Mack, melissa_mack@spra.com Missy Cochenour, missy.cochenour@sst-slds.org Steve Duarte, steve.duarte@sst-slds.org

48. Additional Resources For more on Sustainability, see: • Sustainability Planning Guidehttps://slds.grads360.org/#communities/pdc/documents/2640 • Sustainability Self-Assessmenthttps://slds.grads360.org/#communities/pdc/documents/2689 • Sustainability Toolkithttps://slds.grads360.org/#communities/pdc/documents/3831 • The Common Education Data Standardshttps://ceds.ed.gov/Default.aspx A list of resources related to each component of the Sustainability Framework is available on the 2015 Best Practices Conference Community of Practice at https://slds.grads360.org/#communities/2015-best-practices-conference/workspace?folderId=470