Doctoral Dissertation Research: Effects of a Data Initiative on Social Service Provision

本研究探讨了在一个农村县和小城市中，当地反贫困非营利组织（NPO）共享的第一个“无错门”客户数据库和转介系统的实施情况。 联邦和州政府经常通过非政府组织而不是公共官僚机构提供服务，社会服务正在转向技术和数据共享，作为更好地跟踪成果和跨组织合作的工具。本研究着眼于这种融合，并从非营利组织管理人员、工作人员和客户的角度分析说明了实施过程。 研究结果将有助于政府决策者和NPO领导人更好地了解鼓励NPO采用协作的、数据驱动的解决方案来提供社会资源的后果。本研究利用了参与数据库倡议的四个重点非营利组织的最初九个月的人种学观察数据，以及随后为期1.5年的社区观察数据。 在此期间，这一组本国专业干事一直在着手实施一个共享的客户管理系统，数据库中的所有组织都可以利用该系统获得客户信息，并可以相互推荐。 此外，社区领袖，非营利组织的管理和工作人员，社会服务的客户（n = 80至110）进行了采访，这项研究。 在整个实施过程中对该倡议进行审查将使本研究能够了解非营利社会服务领域共享数据基础设施开发所涉及的社会、经济和政治进程，以及它们对服务提供的影响。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project examines the implementation of one of the first "no-wrong-door" client database and referral systems shared by local anti-poverty nonprofit organizations (NPOs) in a rural county and small city. Federal and state governments frequently deliver services through non-governmental organizations rather than public bureaucracies, and social services are turning to technology and data-sharing as a tool to better track outcomes and collaborate across organizations. This study looks at this convergence and provides an analytical description of the implementation process from the perspective of NPO administrators, staff, and clients. Results will help government policy-makers and NPO leaders be better informed about the consequences of encouraging NPOs to adopt collaborative, data-driven solutions for the delivery of social resources.This study draws on data from nine initial months of ethnographic observation at four focal nonprofits involved in the database initiative, and subsequent community observation over a total of 1.5 years. During this time period, this group of NPOs has been proceeding with the implementation of a shared client management system, in which all organizations in the database have access to client information and can send referrals to each other. In addition, community leaders, nonprofit administration and staff, and social service clients (n = 80 to 110) are interviewed for this research. Examination of the initiative throughout its implementation will enable this study to understand the social, economic, and political processes involved in the development of a shared data infrastructure in the field of nonprofit social services, and their consequences for service delivery.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.