Workforce Data Quality Initiative Technical Assistance Project
Since 2010, the US Department of Labor has awarded grants to states to help them improve the quality of workforce data. SPR has been there every step of the way. Here, we highlight current technical assistance activities.
Project Highlights
In 2021,
together with representatives of the WDQI initiative, we participated in a series of work sessions leading to a Brookings publication on field-wide digital transformation.
All WDQI project resources
—slide decks, papers, briefs, podcasts, and newsletters—are available through the WorkforceGPS WDQI Community of Practice on WorkforceGPS.
The Department of Labor
hosts additional information about WDQI is on its WDQI webpage.
“Wisconsin DWD's progress would not have been possible without WDQI and the support of SPR. By participating in TA, we participated in high-profile innovations that demonstrated how data sharing and evidence building could be done in a safe and responsible manner to advance out goals. Thanks for bringing these amazing resources to our state and others.”
States are building cross-agency, longitudinal data systems, creating internal tools, developing public products, and conducting new research. SPR has provided technical assistance to these efforts since the program’s inception—to over 30 states in eight grantee cohorts. We have hosted dozens of webinars, in-person and virtual conferences, learning labs, coaching sessions, and demos to help states learn about priority topics from their peer or subject matter experts.
Since 2015, we have actively partnered with the open source and civic tech communities—who create open-access methods, tools, and resources for working with data—and with think tanks and analysts to explore opportunities for applied research. We have collaborated with WDQI’s analog in the US Department of Education—the State Longitudinal Data Systems Grant Program—for conferences and federally supported training activities.
Our team has drafted effective practice briefs and white papers, edited a newsletter, and hosted the Making Better Work podcast—all in service of fostering a larger and more robust community of evidence-based workforce data experts, policy-makers, and program managers. Overall, our work has supported the development of many of the new data collaboratives, innovative approaches to data applications, and public-facing tools and resources we see emerging today.
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