All About Data: Takeaways from Listening Session and Future Plans

RTC:Rural is talking data. Along with our partners at the Urban Institute, we are looking at what disability data people are using, how they are using it, and what can be done to improve the quality of the data. In January, we held a listening session to learn from our stakeholders and determine key topics.

The Big Takeaways:

• Data Needs
  • We need better data! This includes clear definitions and categories of disability, and accurate, reliable data. It also includes more data reflecting outcomes like transitions to independence.
  • We need better tools for using data. People need to know where to find the data and tools, and we need more data in plain language.
  • We need better framing to pair data with real world examples to explain the data to people without lived experiences.
• The importance of “groundtruthing.” This means more data to build trust, and listening to people's stories to understand if we are asking the right questions. To do this, it means more community engagement and ownership to put the data back in the hands of those represented by it.

Visit the RTC:Rural website to find out more.