From Projects to Products to Impact
Through “innovation sandboxes,” the MSDC helps states advance and accelerate data product development and innovation. Value is created as networks of government staff from various programs and functions ideate together and discover opportunities to access training, peer support, technical assistance, or use microdata and a secure data facility.
EXAMPLES OF IMPACTFUL DATA PRODUCTS
Highlighted below are two examples of exploratory collaborative projects that have grown into collaborative data products that are informing practice among state, local, and regional leaders. The two products are the Multi-State Post-Secondary Report and the Unemployment to Reemployment Portal.
Plans are underway to add data from Tennessee to the Post-Secondary Outcomes Dashboard. The states of New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Virginia recently received a Democratizing our Data Challenge grant through the Coleridge Initiative to bring their state's data to the Multi-Sate Post-Secondary Dashboard.
The intent of the initial rollout of the Unemployment to Reemployment Portal was to provide executive decision-makers with actionable information on local labor market conditions that were extremely fluid with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally developed by the state of Illinois, Indiana, then, used the portal’s capability to facilitate training interventions on skill transfer between unemployed workers and high demand/supply gaps in local labor markets. More recently, Wisconsin and Arkansas are also developing dashboards.
The Unemployment to Reemployment Portal has been replicated by the states of Indiana, Missouri, and Tennessee. The states of Texas and Ohio created UI data tools inspired by the Illinois tool. Planned expansions include the states of Wisconsin and Arkansas. Illinois has incorporated unemployment spell behavior into the portal and is planning enhancements to include Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Title I and Title III program participants and timely measures of reemployment activity. In 2021, USDOL/ETA partnered with Coleridge Initiative and Illinois to conduct a three month national training with 120 participants representing 30 states to support replication and product scaling.
INNOVATION SANDBOXES THAT SUPPORT PROJECTS AND PRODUCTS
The MSDC RFI Process to Engage External Research Partners
In September 2025, the MSDC launched a Request for Information to obtain information and solicit interest in developing data tools and products that benefit states using state administrative records. The RFI seeks to build partnerships with applied policy researchers and technical experts to extend member states’ capacity to develop innovative data tools and products to address shared priority policy and program issues.
The RFI prioritizes projects that use data housed in the Administrative Data Research Facility (ADRF) hosted by the Coleridge Initiative. However, projects may include MSDC member states who do not share data through the ADRF as partners or collaborators. Successful respondents will demonstrate their commitment and ability to successfully partner with one or more MSDC states and pursue funding to support their proposed initiative.
Register for the virtual “Meet-Up” which will be held on Thursday, October 23 from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. ET for interested project teams to pitch their ideas to states and identify potential partners with data and capacity to partner on projects. Visit the Events tab to register.
The Multi-State Data Collaborative’s RFI builds upon the lessons learned from a pilot RFI conducted by the Midwest Collaborative in 2023-2024.
Democratizing our Data Challenge Projects
State leaders have responded enthusiastically to two rounds of the Coleridge Initiative’s Democratizing our Data Challenge (DDC) awards opportunity. Funded by philanthropic organizations, the DDC was designed to develop and scale innovative product ideas for understanding public policy and programs by using government administrative data that are securely hosted in the Coleridge Initiative’s Administrative Data Research Facility (ADRF). Successful proposals seek to develop, build upon, or scale innovative products, including new data linkages, data dashboards, data portals, APIs, data models, or code repositories. The awards connect states and agencies to share knowledge, models, and products.
- Round 1 states: Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, New Jersey, Ohio, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Virginia, and Wisconsin
- Round 2 states: Indiana, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, and Rhode Island.
- Round 3: Letters of Intent by states have been submitted.
Applied Data Analytics Training Programs
The Coleridge Initiative’s Applied Data Analytics (ADA) training programs build capacity by enhancing data literacy and technical skills through rigorous and modern methods of analysis. To improve evidence-based decision-making skills, participants are trained in developing, interpreting, and communicating value-based outcomes. The ADA training offers a unique opportunity, particularly for government agency staff, as courses are developed through the direct use of restricted-use microdata to answer real, present policy questions they face and introduce practical, open-source tools that can be used after training ends.
Evaluating Enrollment to Employment Pathways Training Investment
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration funded NASWA to support two Applied Data Analytics training classes in 2023 and 2024. The classes focused on the cross-section of WIOA, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs and services linked to employment and wage outcomes. The Coleridge Initiative delivered the classes in partnership with the state of Arkansas. Class final presentations have yielded several promising data projects that could be further developed and scaled. For more information, email datacollabs@naswa.org.
State agency leaders across the country are driving the emergence and sustainability of the MSDC. This work is being supported by NASWA, the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO), the American Public Human Services Association (APHSA), the Coleridge Initiative and other partners and funders. This webpage is a joint partner effort, led by state agency leaders, to provide public information about the MSDC, including their activities and products.