March 10, 2025
In recent years, many states have been working on linking data across agencies with attention to how education affects economic mobility. However, few people have access to this information to guide state policies, design implementation strategies, conduct research, or support individual choices. To effectively provide the information needed in each of these different circumstances, state agencies need roadmaps to help them move from closed data systems to those that provide the right types of information to specific types of data users.
To address this need, WestEd’s Data Integration Support Center (DISC) recommends that states adopt user-centered design principles in their work. This approach spells out the opportunities provided to different types of end users by making information in linked data sets more available, as well as the actions states can take to attain those goals. In this Q&A—the final installment in a DISC blog series exploring DISC’s focus areas—Kathy Booth unpacks the importance of user-centered design in state data systems.
User-centered design focuses on the needs of the intended users of a tool or system when making decisions about the design of that tool or system. By considering—and directly engaging with—the intended users throughout the planning process, the resulting system is designed to ensure that the types of information that will be available align with ways that those users integrate information into their daily work.
In state data systems, for example, legislators may value reports that indicate the percentage of K–12 students who are experiencing homelessness, while a high school principal might want to know which students are experiencing homelessness so they can better serve those families.
Other users in a state data system might include researchers who are investigating whether specific interventions are effective in supporting students experiencing homelessness or families experiencing homelessness who would benefit from being alerted that they are eligible for free and reduced-price meals.
Embedding user-centered design into the planning process for states interested in data integration and modernization efforts is one of DISC’s core capacities.
Data modernization efforts are usually understood to be technology projects, which obscures other critical factors that determine the usefulness of linked data sets. To help reframe the concept of designing modern data systems, we focus on the function that the linked data system serves for a state based on the types of users that have been prioritized.
Inspired by a framework developed by the Actionable Intelligence for Social Policy at the University of Pennsylvania, we recommend that states reflect on three common functions for linked data. These functions are as follows:
- Public Reports & Dashboards: Linked data provide transparent, consistent information that displays and clarifies outcomes.
- Research & Analytics: Linked data are made available to authorized parties to develop nuanced analyses of the factors impacting outcomes.
- Supporting Individuals: Linked data are used to provide personalized services to individuals so they can access education and public services.
Several states have developed data systems that allow for the Public Reports & Dashboards function. For example, Minnesota’s Statewide Longitudinal Education Data System makes it easy for the public to see whether high school graduates are enrolled in college or employed and how much money they make when they complete their education. Its related Early Childhood Longitudinal Data System shows the impact of early care on academic achievement in kindergarten and 3rd grade.
Research & Analytics functions are also available in some states. For example, Rhode Island allows researchers to conduct complex analyses or evaluate specific programs using individual-level data without revealing the identities of the people included in the data set. It can also produce customized data extracts showing results for groups of people.
There are fewer instances of tools for the Supporting Individuals function, but states are starting to build out this use case. For example, California’s Cradle-to-Career Data System partners with CaliforniaColleges.edu to provide information to individual students on college and career options and whether they have taken the right courses to be eligible for the state’s public 4-year colleges. The platform also provides services like sending transcripts for college applications and supporting financial aid applications.
User-centered design helps state leaders better understand the choices they need to make in their data modernization efforts. Too often, when legislators and advocates discuss statewide data system efforts, they focus on traditional technical structures as choice points like whether to build a “federated” or “centralized” system. However, current technology makes it possible for data systems to have both features, so it’s really a false choice. This traditional line of thinking also reinforces the sense that data system development is primarily about technical infrastructure when, in our work with 25+ states, we have found that building trust among partners is one of the most important steps when making data more available.
When the conversation focuses on why data should be linked in the first place, who needs the information, and the optimal way for those people to access the information, it is easier for state agencies to agree to share data and for the public to support the use of their information. Knowing what the final product will be also helps to overcome traditional sticking points like creating the appropriate legal, technical, privacy, and governance structures. And by encouraging states to define the who and why early in their planning and development processes, it makes it easier for the state to engage intended relevant constituencies in the data system design process.
Based on the functions that the state prioritizes for its data system, we support decision-makers in prioritizing how to invest their resources to produce those outcomes. For example, data modernization efforts often focus on the idea of getting “real-time” data. However, the rate at which data need to be refreshed in a linked data set varies by function. Information used for Public Reports & Dashboards is generally refreshed once a year.
For the Research & Analytics function, annual data submissions might be supplemented with other data uploads to fulfill specific research needs. Neither of these functions requires real-time data because they use information that is produced at the end of academic terms or fiscal years.
However, for the Supporting Individuals function, information does need to be provided in near real time. For example, if the data system is being used to submit high school transcript records as part of the college admissions process, the data have to be current and provided within the application window.
DISC helps states identify the function of the linked data and then work with them to create the roadmap to achieve their desired outcome. For example, when DISC supported Delaware’s planning process, the state prioritized the Public Reports & Dashboards and Research & Analytics functions. This meant that the planning committee focused on identifying data visualization priorities rather than on trying to build the infrastructure needed for a real-time data system. Or, when a state chooses all three functions, as was the case in California, DISC helped them identify the different legal and privacy structures necessary to ensure that sensitive information necessary for Supporting Individuals tools are not shared through the Research & Analytics tools.
To learn more about user-centered design or to get started thinking about how to modernize your state’s data system with users in mind, visit our P20W+ Resource website. The section on Purpose and Vision offers tools that states can use to identify different types of data system users and implications for the planning process.
