It's time for a more inspiring conversation about using data.

It's time for a more inspiring conversation about using data. Our approach is based on a long history of using data for proving rather than improving, for reporting rather than decision-making.

We’re in the early phase of a revolution in data democratization. We will still need thoughtful experts, absolutely. But thanks to AI’s prompt-based interfaces suddenly more and more of us have access to different kinds of data -- numbers and stories.

More information makes learning harder.

• Education professional will increasingly be able to get half-decent results simply by instructing “visualize this data for me” (just check out zelma.ai).

• I've always encouraged the teams I work with to rely more on qualitative feedback, but it's previously been a big ask for teams to analyze interviews or meeting notes or even write-in survey responses.

• Today, I’m regularly using AI tools to process qualitative data for quick themes. It blows my mind when I think of the entire years of my life spent coding themes in qualitative coding software like NVivo.

And yet, access to more information doesn’t make learning easier, it makes it harder. We need a new way of incorporating data and learning into our existing team processes.

More information makes learning harder.

Inspired By: Data Culture at the Institution-Level

I spent 2023 in conversation with hundreds of college and university leaders who are champions of using data and analytics for decision-making at their institutions through my role as the consulting project manager for the Joint Statement on Analytics. Thanks to a long-standing partnership between Association for Institutional Research (AIR), NACUBO, and EDUCAUSE, our team (Lindsay Wayt, PhD, Betsy Tippens Reinitz, and Leah Ewing Ross and myself) was able to bring together institutional teams made up of the CFO, CIO, and head of IR from seven institutions. Together we documented the steps of building an institution-wide data culture and co-wrote resources intended for the wider postsecondary community (i.e.: you!).

After five conference presentations and dozens of focus groups and one-on-one discussions, I’m proud to say that hundreds of higher education leaders interacted with this project last year.

Our team can’t wait to show you the resources we have put together for institutional leaders who want to build a culture of data across the institution. These resources will be out and free to access later in 2024, thanks to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

At the Grassroots: Let's Take Small Steps to Cultivate a Data-Informed Team

Inspired by these big conversations around data strategy at the organization level, I have been imagining how we can nurture a data culture from the grassroots – at the level of a program team. That's what this blog is about -- everyday tips for USING data with your team.

8 team skills for effectively using data

In a world where we can drown in information, we need to be teaching our teams different skills:

1. Focus. Cut through the noise and know what your team needs to learn.

2. Impact. Clarify what social change a program is meant to create.

3. Questions. Ask actionable questions, rather than “nice to know” questions.

4. Data-informed Decision-Making. Understand how data can inform decision-making so that we can improve postsecondary education for today’s students.

5. Visualization. Make complex ideas visual for a wide audience.

6. Data storytelling. Craft a narrative that helps others understand what your team is learning.

7. Learning. Build in cycles of learning and improving.

8. Communicating. Document our collective knowledge and create cycles of learning within our communities.

These are the topics I will offer actionable steps around, for you to use with your team.

I’m so glad you’re here.

-Tait