Turning Data into Information to Help Communities Make Better Informed Decisions

Skill Building

The internet provides easy access to volumes of detailed community level data that was inaccessible, or at best difficult or expensive to access, only a decade ago. Access to data is no longer the issue. Identifying the appropriate data and transforming data in to an educational resource remains a challenge.

The presenters have developed creative, simple methodologies to identify and use data readily available via the internet to help communities learn more about their communities and make better economic development decisions. Interactive spreadsheet applications developed by the presenters enable users to obtain, analyze, and use publicly available data more efficiently and effectively. Also, these interactive templates enable user to compare one community to several other similar communities. Rather than simply comparing a community to state and national averages, these spreadsheet applications allow users to easily compare a community to several peer communities thus providing a better context and perspective for recognizing and understanding the changes occurring in their communities.

The presentation will take attendees a tour of the UW-Extension Center for Community Economic Development website and other sites and demonstrate several of the spreadsheet applications. Participants will learn how to use and apply the data, and how to create similar applications using U.S. Census and other web-based data sources.