Emerging Innovations in Data Transparency, Governance & Quality

National Skills Coalition’s new brief, entitled Emerging Innovations in Data Transparency, Governance & Quality, outlines data approaches that some states have implemented to better connect people with the education, skills training, and supports they need and to help states close equity gaps as part of an inclusive economic recovery. 

Advocates can turn to these case studies for inspiration as they push for policy changes that use data to ensure equitable, high-quality credentials. 

The brief includes case studies from three states and recommendations include: 

• To improve data transparency, states can establish robust quality criteria for eligible training providers and require data disaggregation of employment and wage outcomes for participants of training programs by race and ethnicity to ensure that participants of color are being served equitably across and within eligible training programs.
• To improve data governance & use, states can leverage existing data infrastructures to reduce reporting burdens on training providers, streamline data collection processes, and expand upon the partnerships between training providers and the public workforce system.
  
• To improve data quality, states need better data about the employment and wages outcomes of non-degree credentials to truly determine what credentials have value to workers and businesses.
  

NSC’s eight-part Skills for an Inclusive Economic Recovery Policy Agenda includes a plank on public data and accountability regarding who will be included in the recovery and urges state and federal governments to report data on how different workers and businesses are faring in the recovery and hold policies accountable to equitable outcomes for those most impacted.  Improvements in data transparency, governance, and quality (as outlined in Emerging Data Innovations) are the first step. Once we have good data, we can then use it to hold our policymakers accountable to better, more equitable skills training outcomes.