Inside the Black Box - Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago

With regard to the planning and development of a new integrated data management information system,
an agency or organization with the capacity to assure the proper data security and confidentiality will
have to be identified to house the system. In addition, staff at the host organization need the expertise to
maintain the data system, receive and assess the quality and validity of all incoming data, and respond to
any technical problems.
Another aspect of the development of the data system would be assessing how an integrated system
would connect with existing reporting systems, such as IWDS. Further, outreach and stakeholder
engagement efforts would be needed to develop organizational buy in by community-based providers and
other workforce entities in order to obtain their involvement and agreement to share data.
Once the data system is up and running, resources will be needed to input prior data into the system and
ensure newly collected data is properly incorporated in a timely manner. Additionally, all of the desired
functionality of the new data system will need to be tested to ensure programs have the ability to obtain
the information they desire about measures and outcomes for performance assessment and outcome
reporting.
Finally, with regard to implementation of a new data management information system, education and
technical assistance should be offered to all users to build their understanding and support their use of the
new data system. These efforts should emphasize the importance of data entry and quality, as well as how
data extracted from the system can inform their own self-assessment and improve their reporting.
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