“[B]eing in a data collaborative and seeing not only youth-serving organizations, but even our public school system being very transparent about the data that they’re experiencing, the challenges and successes that they’re having engaging young people throughout the school year, has really, I think, shifted the culture around collaborative building, and specifically into data.” —OYF collaborative member
Equal Measure’s evaluation brief for the Aspen Institute Forum for Community Solutions’ Opportunity Youth Forum explores trends and practices in using data to improve systems and outcomes for opportunity youth. The findings come from the full 2021 evaluation report, The Opportunity Youth Forum (OYF): Boosting Capacity to Drive Equitable Systems Change.
Since the start of OYF a decade ago, the Forum’s investments in data capacity help the network understand where systems fail opportunity youth and how to drive strategies for change.
Our brief outlines several key findings, including:
- Consistent growth in data use, spurred by the development of common data definitions and indicators, within and across systems
- An emphasis on data analysis and sharing learning to improve programs and services
- The critical role of dedicated staff who can help collaboratives collect and use data more effectively
- Examples of how collaboratives integrate youth in data collection and analysis
DOWNLOAD THE BRIEF
