This episode is jaw-dropping. Spanning massive changes in data to the thriller-style story Rhode Island's successful Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program launch in under 10 days, Dr. Justine Hastings shares a wealth of insights, lessons, and possibilities from her experience working with states to reimagine their data systems and applications. Justine* is the

founding director at Research Improving People's Lives or RIPL, a new kind of Data Science and Research Lab based in Rhode Island that works with public and social sector leaders from across the country to use data to improve policy and make people's lives better.

She's one of a whole new class of data scientists that link academic, tech, data, and public policy. Longitudinal data systems (like the Workforce Data Quality Initiative) are at the center of these efforts.

*Justine is a also polymath. She served on the Academic Research Council for the US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and on the Council of Economic Advisors to the Governor of Rhode Island. She holds a PhD in Economics from the University of California, Berkeley and remains Professor of Economics and International and Public Affairs at Brown University and Faculty Research Associate with the National Bureau of Economic Research.

References:

• Rhode Island Policy Lab (RIPL)
• National Science Foundation proposal, DOORS Initiative
• GovTech Article on PUA, featuring Rhode Island's PUA/CARES Act response

For more information:

• Sign up for the #MakingBetterWork Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/903537e424bb/mbwnews
• US Department of Labor's WDQI Effort: https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/performance/wdqi
• Community of Practice/WorkforceGPS: https://wdqi.workforcegps.org

Social:

@kristinwolff

@Social_Policy

SPR on Facebook

#MakingBetterWork

Credits:

Produced with support from the US Department of Labor's WDQI Technical Support Project and (fantastic) Doug Foresta.