2000115-Strengthening-Communities-with-Neighborhood-Data

Institutional Context 29
of sources, entering them into an orderly system, and releasing them to
the public over the web in various forms). These fixed costs do not vary
much with the size of the city.
NNIP experience suggests that operating a local data intermediary
is financially sustainable. The growth of NNIP partners from 6 to 37
locales shows that fundraising for local data intermediary functions is
possible in a variety of governmental and philanthropic contexts. As
shown above, success in these activities has also been achieved under
a variety of institutional forms. The NNIP partners still face the same
funding challenges as any nongovernmental organization providing a
community service. Although their financial strength varies, all share
difficulties in raising money for basic data system development and for
staff time to be responsive to requests from community groups who cannot
afford to pay. They must stay attuned to shifts in the funding environment
and continually demonstrate their value to the foundations
and government agencies that support them.
Nonetheless, NNIP partners have been able to navigate their local
environments and sustain operations for many years almost entirely
with local funding. Nine have been in operation for 15 years or more,
and none relies on sole support from a national philanthropy or the
federal government. Since the NNIP network was founded in 1995, several
partner organizations have closed, but in almost all cases, the NNIP
functions were successfully transferred to and sustained by another local
institution. The longevity of the NNIP partner organizations validates
the network’s efforts to present the model to other cities and metropolitan
areas as a viable approach for expanding the availability and use of
community information.
The Functions of Local Data Intermediaries
Local data intermediaries perform three basic functions: (1) assembling,
transforming, and disseminating data; (2) applying the data to achieve
impact; and (3) using data to strengthen civic life and governance. 13
These functions describe how data intermediaries work in most cities
and how communities are altered by the presence of a data intermediary.
Although the main functions are the same, many aspects of the way they
are performed have changed, particularly in response to the remarkable
technical advances and increases in data availability that have taken place
over the past 15 years (these changes are addressed in chapter 3).