Making Better Work

This week host Kristin Wolff explores O4O—an exciting effort within the ecosystem of program stakeholders, data and performance experts, and civic tech champions trying gain more value from the vast amount of data the workforce system collects. This JFFLabs' initiative focuses on creating value at the local level. It has engaged seven workforce boards in a cooperative effort to use their collective data more effectively and share insights more widely—through analytics on the one hand, and user-generates data stories on the other. It's an exciting vision that complements and enriches the work of the broader workforce data community and one you'll want to learn more about. Listen now!

More on O4O, partners and team members, and current products.

For more information:

• Sign up for the #MakingBetterWork Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/903537e424bb/mbwnews
• Community of Practice/WorkforceGPS: https://wdqi.youth.workforcegps.org/
• Email Kristin: [email protected]
• @kristinwolff

Credits:

The project was produced with the help of (the fantastic) Doug Foresta and has been funded, either wholly or in part, with Federal funds from the Department of Labor, Employment & Training Administration under Task Order Number l630DC-18-F-00008 the contents of this publication do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Department of Labor, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement of same by the U.S. Government.

It's Apprenticeship Week! #NAW2021 In honor of the occasion we're speaking with Vinz Koller about apprenticeship, data, equity and a vision for the future. Vinz leads the organization's apprenticeship portfolio.

Resources cited:

• Leveraging Workforce Data Systems to Improve Programs: The Case of Apprenticeship (A WDQI Resource Brief, 2021): https://wdqi.workforcegps.org/resources/2021/08/24/17/45/Leveraging-Workforce-Data-Systems-to-Improve-Programs-The-Case-of-Apprenticeship
• How Apprenticeships for Opportunity Youth Stay Resilient (SPR & JFF): https://www.jff.org/resources/how-apprenticeship-programs-opportunity-youth-stay-resilient-through-covid-19-recession/
• gov
• JFF's Center for Apprenticeship & Work-based Learning: https://www.jff.org/what-we-do/impact-stories/center-for-apprenticeship-and-work-based-learning/
• New America's Center on Education & Labor: https://www.newamerica.org/center-education-labor/
• Vinz! https://www.linkedin.com/in/vinz-koller-b83a885/

For more information:

• Sign up for the #MakingBetterWork Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/903537e424bb/mbwnews
• Community of Practice/WorkforceGPS: https://wdqi.youth.workforcegps.org/
• Email Kristin: [email protected]
• @kristinwolff

Credits:

The project was produced with the help of (the fantastic) Doug Foresta and has been funded, either wholly or in part, with Federal funds from the Department of Labor, Employment & Training Administration under Task Order Number l630DC-18-F-00008 the contents of this publication do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Department of Labor, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement of same by the U.S. Government.

Michelle is Bitwise's Chief Workforce Officer and served as Director and launch architect of the organization's Onward platform, first developed in March 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Michelle helps catch us up on Bitwise's growth—especially in apprenticeship—and shares important lessons about data and how it can be quickly deployed to help workforce agencies design programs (ongoing!) that get workers back on their feet quickly and with confidence.

We're really excited about this one! Have a listen!

Resources:

• Bitwise Industries: https://bitwiseindustries.com/
• The Onward platform: https://onwardus.org/
• Digital New Deal: https://bitwiseindustries.com/about/mission/digital-new-deal/
• Bitwise in the midea: https://bitwiseindustries.com/about/media/
• Michelle! https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelleskoor/

For more information:

• Sign up for the #MakingBetterWork Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/903537e424bb/mbwnews
• Community of Practice/WorkforceGPS: https://wdqi.youth.workforcegps.org/
• Email Kristin: [email protected]

Social:

@kristinwolff

@Social_Policy

SPR on LinkedIn

#MakingBetterWork

Credits:

The project was produced with the help of (the fantastic) Doug Foresta and has been funded, either wholly or in part, with Federal funds from the Department of Labor, Employment & Training Administration under Task Order Number l630DC-18-F-00008 the contents of this publication do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Department of Labor, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement of same by the U.S. Government.

In this episode, Dr. Annelies Goger, Rubenstein Fellow at Brookings, shares her insights about workforce policy and programs and identifies practical steps we can take to improve them through better data and modern data systems. Annelies offers a rare perspective on workforce data. As a researcher with SPR, she evaluated programs and made policy recommendations to improve economic opportunities for people and communities. Poor, outdated, or hard-to-access data was a problem she experienced first- hand. While at Brookings, she has engaged dozens of researchers and practitioners—as well as legislators, policy makers, and technologists from across sectors—to inform her growing portfolio of work in the workforce policy—with data at its heart. (Follow @annelies_goger.) What a treat to see next generation workforce policy come to life in her work! Be sure and check out the resources cited during our discussion including:

Digital Transformation in Education and Workforce Systems (Essay): https://www.brookings.edu/essay/digital-transformation-in-labor-and-education-systems/

Accompanying webcast: https://www.brookings.edu/events/improving-labor-and-education-data-systems-after-the-covid-19-unemployment-crisis/

The Labor Market Doesn't Have a Skills Gap, It Has an Opportunity Gap (with Luther Jackson): https://www.brookings.edu/blog/the-avenue/2020/09/09/the-labor-market-doesnt-have-a-skills-gap-it-has-an-opportunity-gap/

De-segregating Work and Learning through 'Earn and Learn' Models: https://www.brookings.edu/research/desegregating-work-and-learning/

ApprenticeSIP Meet-up Group: https://www.meetup.com/ApprenticeSIP/

Doreen Massey's Work on spatial division of labor and economic restructuring, and employment: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doreen_Massey_(geographer) Institutions as Conscious Food Consumers (Edited Volume): https://www.elsevier.com/books/institutions-as-conscious-food-consumers/thottathil/978-0-12-813617-1

For more information:

Sign up for the #MakingBetterWork Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/903537e424bb/mbwnews

Community of Practice/WorkforceGPS: https://wdqi.youth.workforcegps.org/

Email Kristin: [email protected]

Social:

@kristinwolff

@Social_Policy

SPR on LinkedIn

#MakingBetterWork

Credits:

The project was produced with the help of (the fantastic) Doug Foresta and has been funded, either wholly or in part, with Federal funds from the Department of Labor, Employment & Training Administration under Task Order Number l630DC-18-F-00008 the contents of this publication do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Department of Labor, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement of same by the U.S. Government.

In this episode, we speak with Dr. Sean Simone, Director of Research and Evaluation at the Heldrich Center for Workforce Development (Rutgers University) in New Jersey. We cover traditional workforce data topics – like NJ's evolving training provider data systems (ETPL) – and what it means to build for the future.

Sean understands the power of data to inform good strategy and practice, improve NJ residents lives and livelihoods, and rectify past injustices—and he's doing everything in his power to bring these elements to the design and implementation of data systems, strategies, research, and consumer-facing tools in NJ and across the emerging Eastern States Data Collaborative.

What a treat to speak with him! And of course, he shared resources galore.

NJ Resources:

· NJ Education to Earnings Data Systems https://njed2earndata.org/ · NJ ETPL https://njtrainingsystems.dol.state.nj.us/ and https://www.nj.gov/labor/lwdhome/coei/etpl_procedures.html

· Heldrich Center for Workforce Development https://www.heldrich.rutgers.edu/work/projects

· Data for the American Dream (at Heldrich) https://www.heldrich.rutgers.edu/work/data-american-dream

National Resources: · Clearinghouse for Labor Evaluation and Research (CLEAR) https://clear.dol.gov/about · Workforce GPS https://wdqi.workforcegps.org/

· Commission on Evidence-based Policy (archive) https://bipartisanpolicy.org/commission-on-evidence-based-policymaking-archive/

· The Failure of Big Data to Address Problems in the Workforce during the COVID-19 Era, Sean Simon, for the Atlanta Federal Reserve (2021) https://www.atlantafed.org/cweo/workforce-currents/2021/04/16/the-failure-of-big-data-to-address-problems-in-the-workforce-during-the-covid-19-era · Future legislation? https://sites.ihep.org/postsecdata/data-at-work/better-data-horizon-analysis-evolving-student-level-data-legislation

For more information:

· Sign up for the #MakingBetterWork Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/903537e424bb/mbwnews

· Community of Practice/WorkforceGPS: https://wdqi.youth.workforcegps.org/

· Email Kristin: [email protected]

Social: @kristinwolff @Social_Policy SPR on LinkedIn

#MakingBetterWork

Credits:

The project was produced with the help of (the fantastic) Doug Foresta and has been funded, either wholly or in part, with Federal funds from the Department of Labor, Employment & Training Administration under Task Order Number l630DC-18-F-00008 the contents of this publication do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Department of Labor, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement of same by the U.S. Government.

In this episode, we talk with Dr. Julia Lane, cofounder of the Coleridge Initiative—a program that aims to transform the way governments access and use data for social good. It's a wide-ranging discussion covering major themes in Julia's new book, Democratizing Our Data: A Manifesto, new public data demands sparked by the COVID crisis, as well as strategies for meeting urgent needs in the short term while building better systems infrastructure over time. Julie sees both critical urgency and limitless potential for using data more effectively to inform public policy, program designs, and the sequence and timing of interventions to produce better outcomes for people and communities.

So many references! And we've got you covered:

• Democratizing Our Data: A Manifesto (2020)
• The Coleridge Initiative/Administrative Data Research Facility (ADRF)
  • Training
  • ADRF Collaborators
  • National Convening: Jobs Data for Evidence-Based Policy (Information & Registration)
• Origins of the Unemployment Rate: The Lasting Legacy of Measurement without Theory, David Card (2011)
• Burning Glass Jobs Data
• NASWA
  • Breaking New Ground
• Foundations Catalyzing Change in the Public Data Space:
  • Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
  • Schmidt Futures
  • Overdeck Family Foundation
• Morrill Act and Land Grant Colleges/Agricultural Extension Programs

For more information:

• Sign up for the #MakingBetterWork Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/903537e424bb/mbwnews
• Community of Practice/WorkforceGPS: https://wdqi.youth.workforcegps.org/
• Email Julia: [email protected]
• Email Kristin: [email protected]

Social:

@kristinwolff

@Social_Policy

SPR on LinkedIn

#MakingBetterWork

Credits:

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

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.

In this episode, we turn the tables. Producer Doug Foresta interviews Kristin Wolff about the impact of COVID-19 on WDQI and partner data projects. The two barely take a breath in this impromptu chat about the crises and opportunities the pandemic has made evident, and the vastly expanded stakeholder networks and partner ecosystems engaged in solutions work.

So many references! Here are a few:

• BrightHive, SPR's trusted partner in the WDQI effort
• Research Improving People's Lives (RIPL)
• The Coleridge Initiative/Administrative Data Research Facility (ADRF)
• GovLab
• DataKind
• Jobs for the Future (JFF)
• Civic Software Foundation
• WDQI Round VI Highlights (Summer 2020): https://wdqi.workforcegps.org/resources/2020/08/24/23/53/WDQI-Webinar-Round-VI-Accomplishments

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/newsroom/releases/eta/eta20190722
• Community of Practice/WorkforceGPS: https://wdqi.youth.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.

In this episode, our host Kristin Wolff talks with Mark Duey and Kevan Fish, project leads for Colorado's Workforce Data Quality Initiative with the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment.

Mark and Kevan share Colorado's effort to build data-rich, human-centered systems that respond to the current crisis and provide value "way out into the future." Focused on creating sophisticated tools for matching people with first jobs, next jobs, and training that makes the best use of their talents and skills, they envision a future that provides more pathways to better work (we love this!) and builds in the flexibility to respond to shocks – like COVID-19.

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/newsroom/releases/eta/eta20190722
• Connecting Colorado: https://www.connectingcolorado.com/
• My Colorado Journey: https://www.mycoloradojourney.com/
• Onward Colorado: https://onwardco.org/

Social:

@Onward_Colorado

@ColoradoLabor

Colorado Department of Labor and Employment on Facebook

Credits:

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

In this episode, our host Kristin Wolff talks with Patrick Getz, project lead for California's Workforce Data Quality Initiative, with the California Workforce Development Board.

We learn about the state's efforts to standardize, improve, and connect data from across programs into a system that provides more value for everyone – policy makers, agency staff, nonprofit partners, businesses, and Californians up and down the state. Because of California's vast size and scale, there is much to be learned about what works to help all people advance, firms grow, and communities build a stronger middle class. In the wake of COVID-19, the ensuing recession, and the largest social movement in our nation's history (#BlackLivesMatter), this work takes on new urgency and importance.

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/newsroom/releases/eta/eta20190722
• California Workforce Development Board: https://cwdb.ca.gov/
• California Future of Work Commission: https://www.labor.ca.gov/labor-and-workforce-development-agency/fowc/

Social:

https://www.facebook.com/CALaborAndWorkforceDevelopmentAgency

https://twitter.com/calwda