Data Driven Leadership

Iowa has developed a unique ecosystem to set its children up for success. And what's at the crux of that ecosystem?

Data.

Dr. Heather Rouse, associate professor of human development and family studies at Iowa State University, and Amanda Winslow, Early Childhood Iowa system facilitator at the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services, join guest host Curt Merlau to discuss how their partnership enabled informed decision-making for Iowa's early childhood initiative.

Heather and Amanda share the process of building an integrated data system. They explain why it was a crucial piece of their initiative, unlocking insights across various early childhood programs. They emphasize the importance of trust in any data-driven project and share how they have built trust with community partners throughout their initiative.

Resources from this episode:

• Child Trends survey
• Early Childhood Iowa

In this episode, you'll learn:

• How integrated data systems enable better decision-making
• Why trusted partnerships are a vital part of data-driven leadership
• The importance of usability, trust, and data literacy

Things to listen for:

[06:30] The need for an integrated data system

[14:30] What an integrated data system is

[18:45] The importance of usability and trust

[24:00] Promoting data literate communities

[29:30] How Iowa's integrated data system has enabled better decision-making

For decades, the tennis industry lacked real-time data.

Strategic decisions were made based on annual reports, creating lags in insights and inefficiencies.

However, within a year United States Tennis Association Director of Digital Business Development Brooke Austin and her team initiated USTA Connect, a digital, data-driven platform gathering real-time data from players, retailers, and manufacturers.

What seemed an insurmountable challenge evolved into an actionable game plan, benefiting not just the USTA but the entire tennis community.

Resultant Engagement Manager Mary Catharine Grau also joins the episode. Here are some key takeaways from Mary Catharine and Brooke:

1. Align Data Strategy with Core Mission: Ensure your data strategy serves your overarching mission, whether enhancing customer experience, optimizing operations, or exploring new market opportunities.

2. Iterate and Adapt Quickly: Collect early feedback, adapt tools, and refine processes as you go.

3. Bridge Industries with Collaborative Data: Breaking down silos and fostering data-sharing relationships can lead to industry-wide advancements in any sector.

Listen to the full conversation to hear the details about how USTA has developed a data-centric culture.

In this episode, you will learn:

• How to harness the power of real-time data for decision-making
• How data can unite stakeholders toward a shared goal
• The importance of re-evaluating data strategies based on user needs

Things to listen for:

• [00:00] An introduction to the episode
• [04:43] USTA Connect revolutionizing tennis data
• [08:40] Evolution of USTA's data collection
• [12:44] Aligning all stakeholders with a common goal
• [18:00] How launching new platforms can bring doubts
• [20:02] Data is versatile and essential for growth
• [23:02] Stay true to data strategy and prioritize purpose

For education to be meaningful to students, we need to evolve education from a schooling system to a learning system. That requires modernization and uncommon alliances.

In this episode, Erin Mote, the CEO of InnovateEDU who was also recently named District Administration Magazine's most influential and impactful leader and innovator in the K-12 Education Top 100, joins host Curt Merlau and co-host Mike Baur to discuss the transformative role of data and technology in education. Their conversation covers data interoperability, privacy, and inclusion, stressing the need for a holistic approach to leveraging technology in education.

Erin explains how InnovateEDU catalyzes large-scale change by fostering collaborations between industry, nonprofits, and the public sector. She also shares how technology has drastically changed her son's education.

Creating modern infrastructure in education is more than a nice-to-have. It's necessary to make students feel safe, known and loved. Data interoperability across state lines can make or break a student's school transition, especially for students who move frequently or require special accommodations.

Erin's insights highlight the need for modern data infrastructure in education and inspire leaders of all types to collaborate on data-driven strategies for meaningful change.

Resources from this episode:

• Savage Inequalities by Jonathan Kozol
• Assessing the Educational Data Movement by Philip J. Piety
• EdSafe AI Alliance
• Project Unicorn

In this episode, you will learn:

• How data interoperability enhances the effectiveness of the education system
• How uncommon alliances drive large-scale change
• How data can challenge bias and expand opportunities in education

How did the Children's Hospital Association achieve a data transformation that saved them $2 million annually? They started with a strategic data assessment and got clear on strategy first.

Preparation makes all the difference to the smooth execution of such a large initiative.

In this episode replay, we're taking it back with Resultant's President, John Roach. He shares how to align your data strategy with your organizational mission, avoid the most common but least-mentioned pitfall in data, and find where data analytics can make the most impact on your organization.

Lori Hotzel, CIO of the Children's Hospital Association, serves as a real-life example of the lessons John shares. You'll hear an excerpt from a webinar where she explains the importance of sound strategy for data transformation and how it enabled her team to gain executive buy-in, quickly show ROI, and save millions of dollars on their data processing.

In this episode, you will learn:

• How to think critically about data strategy and mechanisms
• How to quickly show ROI on data initiatives
• The importance of preparation for a successful data transformation

AI isn't just for large corporations.

Small-to-medium businesses (SMBs) can—and should—leverage the power of AI, too.

Not sure how to start? Ben Schreiner, head of the Business Innovation team at AWS, is here to help.

Ben joins guest host Justin Bolles to dive into AI's effects on SMBs and lay out practical steps for getting started with it. He explains what SMB leaders need to know about security and data privacy, shares examples of real-world applications of AI, and demystifies concepts like AI models and hallucinations.

Interested in learning more from AWS? You can find more information in this blog post.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• How to maximize AI's impact on your business
• Why data infrastructure is crucial to successfully using AI
• How to leverage existing AI models for cost-effective solutions

Things to listen for:

• [00:00] An introduction to the episode
• [02:45] How to start leveraging AI
• [07:00] How to train AI models on your data
• [12:45] How to choose a cost-effective model
• [19:10] How to mitigate the risks of AI
• [22:35] The future impact of AI
• [26:35] Setting a foundation with data

What keeps formerly incarcerated individuals in their communities and out of prison?

The Michigan Department of Corrections set out to answer that question.

The key, they discovered, is education.

Kyle Kaminski, offender success administrator at Michigan Department of Corrections, and Ben Wories, director of public sector services at Resultant, join this episode to share their story. They explain how introducing technology and education in Michigan's prisons not only transformed attitudes but also reduced recidivism rates. Their story demonstrates the effectiveness of bold leadership, the importance of public-private partnerships, and the significance of data in measuring success.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• How data has driven MDOC's reduction in recidivism
• How public-private partnerships enable innovation
• How bold leadership leads to positive change

If you're a parent, you know how critical it is to connect with teachers. And research backs this intuition up. From Harvard to the Journal of Education Research, numerous studies show that family engagement in education boosts student learning outcomes.

So, how do we engage families in learning? It all starts with clean data and interoperability.

Here to explain the relationship between tech and family engagement in learning is Strategy and Marketing Officer Dr. Chad Stevens. Chad shares what he's learned from his career in the education industry, including his work at ParentSquare, and the innovative ways the right technology seamlessly brings families and educators together.

Chad explains the importance of clean data, interoperability, and connecting applications like ParentSquare to other forms of data to give educators and parents the information they need at the right time. He also shares his insights on making data-driven decisions as an EdTech leader and emphasizes the need to stay focused on learners.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• How interoperability enables family engagement in learning
• Why empathy and active listening pave the way for tech that supports education
• How to leverage both intuition and data in decision-making

Things to listen for:

[00:00] An introduction to the episode

[06:45] The importance of data interoperability

[11:45] Bridging the gap between technology and instruction

[16:30] How interoperability impacts family involvement in education

[20:45] Balancing intuition with data

[28:30] Staying focused on learners as technology evolves

How does trust in data shape educational policy?

We're diving into this question today with Dr. David Ramadan, a seasoned executive and international consultant with over 25 years of advocacy, business, and government relations experience.

Dr. Ramadan discusses the need for educational policies to embrace a data-driven approach for enhanced student outcomes and more effective resource allocation. He explains the factors contributing to the politicization of data and shares the importance of trust in creating a data-driven culture.

In this episode, you will learn:

• Why there's a lack of data-driven leadership in education today
• How to build a data-driven culture
• How technology can advance education

Education change-makers know that when data empowers, it's much more powerful than data that merely meets compliance requirements.

Chief Information Officer for the Georgia Department of Education, Dr. Keith Osburn, and Chief Data Officer Nicholas Handville are doing just that by giving data back to educators across the state in formats that facilitate its use as a valuable decision-making tool.

In this episode, they share how they're providing accessible, timely, and actionable data products that teachers and education leaders can use to make the best decisions for their students. They explain the critical role of system interoperability, modernizing data infrastructure, and establishing trust with all stakeholders.

Throughout the conversation, we explore tangible ways data reshapes educational landscapes by shifting from a compliance to a value-driven model, particularly post-COVID. Keith and Nicholas emphasize the need for an accessible approach tailored to support schools and districts regardless of their starting capacity.

In this episode, you will learn:

• The importance of enabling system interoperability
• How to shift data's purpose from compliance to empowerment
• What modernization means for educational data and infrastructure

Collecting good data is only half the battle.

The next major hurdle?

Getting that data into the hands of the people who need it.

Data Quality Campaign (DQC) Executive Vice President Paige Kowalski is on a mission to do just that: Get education data to students, families, and educators.

As a first-generation college student herself, Paige understands the high stakes of making informed decisions about post-secondary education. She joins us to share her insights on the need for accessible and reliable data to guide students and parents through the complex journey from high school to college and beyond.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• How longitudinal data empowers students and educators
• The importance of easy access to educational data
• Why data-driven leaders need to embrace risk