I nā kualono: towards systems change in data science capacity for the Hawai`i-Pacific region

in 'Ōlelo Hawai'i: kualono is the ridge line that joins mountaintops, the highest point of the ahupua’a. I nā kualono describes traveling and approaching those mountain ridges.

WHAT we are doing: Targeting SYSTEMS CHANGE

"Systems change is an approach to tackling the root causes of a problem by identifying and creating shifts in the systems that are responsible for the problem."  Ashokat.
We are working to improve the Hawaii-Pacific data ecosystem of data sets, workforce, practitioners and consumers of data in support of the region.

HOW we work: Through a COLLECTIVE IMPACT FRAMEWORK

  • NSF INCLUDES Alliances focus on systems change through a Collective Impact framework

  • Collective Impact emphasizes partnering organizations achieving change through:

    • forming a backbone organization of committed partners

    • identifying a mutually shared agenda for change

    • performing mutually reinforcing activities

    • maintaining open and continuous communication

    • conducting shared measurement to track progress and identify impacts

ALL-SPICE SYSTEMS CHANGE LEVERS:

Lever 1:

Develop skills and resources in individuals and communities for empowered engagement with data. providing access to data science careers and meeting employer needs.

ALL-SPICE SYSTEMS CHANGE APPROACHES:

Capacity Building through training and education (Lever 1)

ALL-SPICE programs directly impact Pacific data capacity through education, training, and workforce development

Example initiatives:

  • Data Science major and minor serves Hawaii-Pacific students

  • Research internships and employer internships provide early experience working real-world use cases and pathways to graduate placement

  • DataSkills, Summer Immersion and UN Short Course Certifications offered to Hawaii and USAPI participants

  • Training programs and certifications build individual and organizational relationships with data and skillsets

Lever 2:

Effect changes in policy and practice level to ensure fair data access and improve the quality and quantity of Pacific data for decision support.

Lever 3:

Support regionally-tailored data science technical assistance, and the development of tools and methods that assist Hawaii-Pacific stakeholders.

Improving Pacific data for effective decision support (Lever 2)

Identifying, highlighting and mitigating issues that weaken Pacific data (e.g., gaps in the data, age of the data, aggregated data, statistical practices that impact small communities, language and translation needs)

Example initiatives:

  • The Alliance team produced the first detailed analysis of impacts of certain statistical practices in Federal data sets for small/island communities (currently in press at Pacific Health Dialog )

  • Alliance analyst Connor Flynn is mentoring student research projects assessing data gaps for Small Island Developing States across UN SDG indicators in areas such as criminal justice, aid, health.

  • Development of new open source code to improve visibility of the US-affiliated region in common data visualizations such as choropleth plots

  • Development of new open source R code updating the international standard SDGsR Package for Importing SDG data into R Studio

  • Development of the Language Finder app

Technical Assistance (Lever 3)

Providing collaboration on data science, AI and ML problems and workforce needs to regional stakeholders including businesses, non-profits, government agencies and academia.

Example initiatives:

  • DoD and defense contractor collaborations on workforce development in data science, AI/ML and cyberinfrastructure (e.g., P3I, USARPAC, AFOSR)

  • Data science internships with state and Federal agencies to assist in talent identification and recruitment in DS/AI/ML

  • Short Course certifications for personnel upksilling in GIS, R programming and other areas in support of technical capacity in the region

  • Applied research collaborations under Data Science for Organizational Change that support business and non profit capacity building

  • Collaborative research projects with faculty partners that build DS capacity and address regional economic and community challenges

Measuring Systems Change (Lever 1, 2, 3)