Connecticut Data Collaborative Earns Two-Year Grant from Hartford Foundation for Public Giving to Support Accessible Data Initiatives

The Connecticut Data Collaborative (CTData) has been awarded a two-year, $260,000 grant by the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving for core support to advance effective planning and decision-making through the use of open and accessible data.

CTData connects people and data to promote informed decision-making and to advance equity in Connecticut. CTData provides services to residents, nonprofits, policymakers, and funders so they can use data to drive policy, program, and service improvements. The organization strives to promote and engage data users in implementing equitable data practices across the state.

CTData program initiatives include the CTData Academy, Equity in Data Community of Practice, Customized Data Workshops, and Data Consulting services. The Hartford Data Collaborative is also an initiative within CTData that is providing the data infrastructure for the North Hartford Ascend Pipeline project. In addition, the Hartford Data Collaborative runs a Hartford Youth Data Fellows program.

The Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, Greater Hartford’s community foundation, serves 29 towns, nearly 800,000 residents, hundreds of nonprofits, and a network of philanthropists with more than 1,200 funds. The foundation “brings together the people, knowledge, investments and passion to make Greater Hartford a more inclusive and equitable place to live, work and raise a family.”

“We’re excited to make this unrestricted core support grant to CTData,” said Hartford Foundation Director of Learning, Evaluation, and Capacity Building Kate Szczerbacki. “CTData is well-positioned to use this flexible funding because of its nimble and responsive approach to supporting all data users’ access to data literacy supports, high-quality public data, and secure data sharing and integration processes. Moreover, CTData is an asset to the Greater Hartford Region’s data ecosystem because of its commitment to improving equitable data practices in our community.”

"We are very grateful to the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving for their ongoing and continued support of our work in the public interest," said CTData Executive Director Michelle Riordan-Nold. “Data-informed decision-making is increasingly essential in a vast array of fields – from government to the private sector – which makes data literacy and access to data more important than ever. CTData is on the frontlines making data more accessible and working with individuals and organizations to improve their understanding of and use of data.”

Among its programs, CTData has developed and launched a social enterprise service, Data Strategic Planning, just over a year ago, designed to help nonprofit organizations improve how they measure their impact and fulfill their mission.

Organizations that participate in Data Strategic Planning receive 12-18 months of training and coaching. They build new or improved strategies for their data collection, analysis, and reporting processes, which results in data-informed decision-making. Ultimately, nonprofits see improved program outcomes, more effective resource allocation, and increased revenue for these organizations. To date, there have been three cohorts participating, including a total of 34 nonprofit organizations.

CT Data recently released a new Data Platform on Adverse and Positive Childhood Experiences in Connecticut, making data available to the public for the first time. The data include events that occur in childhood that may increase the risk of adverse outcomes later in life and factors that have been found to promote healthy child development and well-being. CTData also provides opportunities for youth to increase crucial data skills and become involved in the data-gathering process in a number of project initiatives, including the Civic Data Program, and the Hartford Youth Data Fellowship for youth ages 17-24.

CTData’s Equity in Data Community of Practice is a group of data users in Connecticut who are supporting one another in working toward more equitable data practices. In monthly meetings – virtual or in-person, the group focuses on racial equity explicitly but not exclusively. The next session is scheduled for November 21. Participation is free; details are at www.ctdata.org.

Among its areas of responsibility, CTData has been designated as the lead organization for the State of Connecticut in the U.S. Census Bureau’s State Data Center Program. Earlier this year, CTData added U.S. Census American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates for Connecticut’s 169 cities and towns, with topics including income, education, housing, remote-working, and more.

In addition, CTData manages the Hartford Data Collaborative, a network of Hartford area non-profit organizations, government agencies, and philanthropic partners that facilitates data sharing and data integration among its partners.

More information about CTData programs and datasets, is available on the website at ctdata.org.

Contact: Michelle Riordan-Nold, Executive Director 860.937.9056 mrn@ctdata.org