AmeriCorps Office of Research and Evaluation Evidence and Impact Webinar Series 

October 31, 2023 

Delivering on Diversity and Equity with Data 
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AmeriCorps Office of Research and Evaluation Evidence and Impact Webinar Series 

October 31, 2023 

Delivering on Diversity and Equity with Data 
Katy Hussey-Sloniker, MBA, MSW 

Learning Officer, Office of Research and Evaluation 

Welcome 
The AmeriCorps Office of Research and Evaluation 

ORE Vision: 

AmeriCorps strives to make a lasting and sustainable impact across 

the FOUR domains of our Impact Framework and foster the powerful 

synergies between these interconnected domains. 

ORE Mission 

• Identify national service and volunteering trends 

• Conduct research and build scholarship on civic engagement 

• Measure national service impact 

• Promote evidence-based models and program expansion 

Culture of Learning: 

Knowledge and evidence built across the FOUR domains of impact 

can be used to improve the participant service experience, 

strengthen organizations, support communities and inform the civic 

health of society. 

AmeriCorps Impact Framework 
Kyle Brees, MA 

Research Analyst, Office of Research and Evaluation, 

AmeriCorps 

Setting the Stage 
Data for Equity 

7 

• Diversity in the workplace leads to improved productivity amongst employees 

o “...diversity is either positively associated with productivity or there is no significant relationship

between diversity and productivity” – Trosky and Barrington, 2001 

• Strong policy push from presidential office 

o The principle of equitable data is about disaggregating and analyzing data to identify disparities in 

federal policies and programs, using levers of the federal government to address those disparities, 

and then enabling members of the public to hold government accountable. – Subcommittee on 

Equitable Data 

o Census has put out demographic data, diversity metrics, and data tools for visualizing 

Census data. 

o https://www.census.gov/about/what/data-equity.html 
Data on Equity vs Equitable Data Use 

8 

• While the creation of tools and publishing data is a great first step can not be the end goal 

for agencies when sharing data on equity or any findings 

o“equity is both an outcome and a process” – Data Feminism by Catherine D'Ignazio and Lauren F. 

Klein 

• While data on equity helps benchmark and measure diversity in an office, equitable data 

use promotes the dissemination of information to all parties, particularly those who have 

been seen just as participants of studies or less resource rich than typical data user 

o “set of principles and practices to guide anyone who works with data (especially data related to

people) through every step of a data project through a lens of justice, equity, and inclusivity.”
Some Examples? 

9 

• Participatory research methods 

• Company benchmarking measures 

• Collection of race and ethnicity 

• Community Town Hall 

• Data Education 

• Data Tools 

• Equity Lens and Framework 
What to expect today 

10 

• At the end of the day, we hope you can walk away having: 

o Learned the difference between equitable data vs. Data on equity. 

o Learned about the executive order from the president and the importance of creating an 

equitable data that can be accesses by various communities. 

o Knowledge from AmeriCorps’s historical work in these two different areas and what initiatives are 

currently underway to move this work forward and create a more equitable work environment 

• White House Equitable Data Working Group, Robin Ghertner 

• Chief Data Officer AmeriCorps, Andrea Gibbons 

• Chief DEIA AmeriCorps, Nate Benjamin (10 minutes) 

• Review of our examples and discussion 

• Recap of our findings and best practices 
Robin Ghertner, PhD 

Director of Data and Technical Analysis, 

Office of Human Services Policy, HHS/ASPE 

Community Engagement and Accountability 

for Equitable Data 
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 

Community Engagement and 

Accountability for Equitable 

Data 

October 2023 

Robin Ghertner, Director of Data and Technical Analysis 

robin.ghertner@hhs.gov 
Equitable Data 

The principle of equitable data is about 

disaggregating and analyzing data to identify 

disparities in federal policies and programs, using 

levers of the federal government to address those 

disparities, and then enabling members of the 

public to hold government accountable. 

13 
Background 

• This presentation summarizes the 

work of the Interagency Working 

Group on Community 

Engagement and Accountability, 

under the Subcommittee on 

Equitable Data—both called for 

under the equity executive orders. 

• Our charge was to expand the 

Equitable Data Working Group’s

recommendations to galvanize 

diverse partnership across levels 

of government and be 

accountable to the American 

public. 

14 
Working Group Activities 

• Regular meetings of interagency working 

group, representing 13 agencies 

• Discussion of agency initiatives to engage 

communities one equitable data 

• Request for Information from members of the 

public (nearly 170 responses; responses 

available upon request and exploring posting 

opportunities) 

• Listening session with experts from local 

government, think tanks, and universities 

15 

Participating Agencies 

• White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs 

(co-chair) 

• Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the 

Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (co-chair) 

• Corporation for National Service (AmeriCorps) 

• Department of Agriculture (Food and Nutrition Service) 

• Department of Commerce (Census Bureau and the Office of 

the Chief Data Officer 

• Department of Education 

• Environmental Protection Agency 

• Department of Health and Human Services, Administration 

for Children and Families 

• Department of Housing and Urban Development (Office of 

the Chief Data Officer) 

• Department of the Interior (Bureau of Indian Affairs) 

• Department of Labor (Chief Evaluation Office) 

• National Science Foundation 
Barriers and Challenges Federal 

Agencies Face in Engaging 

Community Partners on Equitable 

Data 

16 
Challenges Federal Agencies Face in Engaging 

Community Partners on Equitable Data 

• Federal statutes, regulations, and other program requirements 

◦ Statutes can shape what data can be shared with whom and how agencies can engage with members of the public 

◦ Navigating requirements and process takes resources, time and advance planning 

◦ Requires clear communication with community partners to share expectations about timing and relevant restrictions 

◦ May make it more challenging to engage with smaller, less-resourced partners 

• Federal and community resources can limit scope of collaboration 

◦ Engagement partnerships often require resources, including staffing, expertise, cultural/linguistic knowledge, and IT/data 

infrastructure 

◦ Time is a key resource—and can be shaped by funding sources 

◦ Underserved communities may need additional capacity to engage with government 

• Trust and historical relationships between government and communities 

◦ Partnerships require trust—trust that the federal government will treat communities with respect and in ways that are mutually beneficial for the communities 

◦ Communities that have faced historical marginalization may have limited trust—and this requires proactive work to 

overcome 

17 
Roles played by community partners across the 

Federal data life cycle 

18 

Planning 

Creation or 

Collection 

Use 

Access 

Dissemination 

Disposition 

Governance E.g. governing or 

advisory boards 

E.g. conducting outreach, awareness 

building 

E.g. informing their own activities, 

program, outreach 

E.g. helping more members of the 

public access data for analysis 

E.g. helping more members of 

the public understand insights 

and implications of data and 

using it to hold government 

accountable 

E.g. helping ensure 

sustainability of data 

collection 

E.g. informing data definitions, elements, 

measurement 
Specific roles for community partners 

• Help community members be better consumers of results from analysis and evaluation that 

include equitable data 

• Improve sustainability of work on equitable data beyond initial investment 

• Ensure data objectives and design reflect community interests in equity 

• Promote community trust in federal equitable data efforts 

• Incentivize community participation in federal equitable data efforts and use of available 

data products 

Do Not Distribute Outside HHS 19 
Considerations for Federal agencies 

• Include and align community goals with federal goals 

◦ Communities and agencies may not have the same goals. Agencies can be mindful of how different goals 

can create challenges for successful partnership, and plan for adjustments. Clear communication of goals 

and expectations for all parties is critical. 

• Identify and plan for specific capabilities needed by Federal agencies and community partners 

◦ Federal capabilities could include: ability to identify communities; ability to conduct community needs 

assessments; knowledge of community context; time to plan engagement; staff and budgetary resources. 

◦ Community partner capabilities could include: adequate staffing with appropriate skills; data literacy; 

methodological expertise; positioned to advocate for communities; patience to work with federal partners; 

adequate IT infrastructure 

• Review existing federal data governance structures 

◦ Existing governance structures may not support community partnerships. Public access to data is critical for 

equitable data partnerships. 

• Establish data standards and principles to support non-federal data collection and analysis 

◦ Federal agencies can create equity standards for state, local, and non-government data collection and infrastructure. Federal support/TA for data harmonization, linking, and other infrastructure is important to 

support community-led data equity efforts. 

20 
Opportunities for further research 

• Effective strategies for building capacity in communities to engage in equitable data 

collection, analysis and use 

• Approaches to building trust in communities in federal equitable data initiatives, 

particularly for communities that have experienced past harms. 

• How to ensure initiatives are mutually beneficial for communities and federal 

agencies, to avoid being extractive and ensure communities find value 

• How agencies can balance scientific integrity of data with accessibility to the public 

and usability 

• Approaches to engage communities early in equitable data initiatives 

21 
Andrea Gibbons, CDMP 

Chief Data Officer, AmeriCorps 

Enabling Equitable Data 
Office of the Chief Data Officer 

23 

Mission: Fostering innovation and maturing Enterprise 

Data Management (EDM) best practices and 

methods to strengthen and enable the AmeriCorps 

community to discover, understand, access, use, 

and share data in support of the AmeriCorps Mission. 

Aligns to Evidence Act as it requires federal agencies 

to modernize data infrastructure and leverage data 

as a strategic asset. 
Visible 

• Data are discoverable 

Accessible 

• Data are readily available by 

authorized stakeholders 

• Data can be easily combined or 

compared with other data. 

Understandable 

• Data consistently represent the 

same business facts regardless of 

source. 

• Terms are defined, consistent, and 

published. 

Data Management Outcomes 

24 

Responsive 

• Data is validated by robust, direct user 

feedback mechanisms 

• Data is relevant to the business 

requirements 

Trusted 

• Data are of high quality, reliable, and 

documented. 

• Data dimensions are transparent. 

• Governed 

• Data are managed from an enterprise 

perspective. 

• Data has clear lines of accountability. 
EDM Goals 

Create and support a culture of secure accessible and trusted data. 

25 

Reduce and Reuse 

Optimize and secure information 

infrastructure capabilities. 

Share and Collaborate 

Strengthen and unify AmeriCorps’

ability to share information. 

Trust and Agility 

Effectively manage information 

capabilities and implement cross 

organizational line of sight. 

Capacity and Knowledge 

Build Human Capital capacity to 

ensure enterprise data management 

maturity. 
Centralize 

data management 

practices so that subject 

matter experts can 

spend more time doing 

analysis 

Follow 

proven industry best 

practices for data 

management and 

analytics 

Implement 

incremental culture 

change so as not to 

disrupt mission 

commitment 

Apply 

modern data 

architectures, tools, and 

automations that 

reduce burden on 

technical staff 

Leverage 

existing investments in 

environments and tools 

Utilize 

Agile methodology to 

reduce risk using a data 

centric approach 

EDM Guiding Principles 

26 
The Four Pillars 

Data Modernization Roadmap 

27 

2. Capacity Building 

for Data 

1. Data Governance & 

Stewardship 

4. Data in 

Practice 

3. AmeriCorps 

Information Model 

establishes capabilities related 

to data workforce planning, 

data skills and literacy, and 

developing AmeriCorps’ data 

culture 

establishes capabilities related 

to data strategy, data 

governance frameworks for 

decision making, data policy 

development, continuous 

improvement, and measuring 

success 

establishes support for a 

variety of data products, 

standard analytics tools, and 

support for data consumers 

establishes modern data hub 

architecture, enterprise data 

management tools, and accessible 

trusted data sets to support 

analytics, research, and operational 

decision making 
The Four Pillars 

And Corresponding Capability Categories 

28 

1. Data Governance & Stewardship 2. Capacity Building for Data 

• Strategy & Planning • Workforce Planning 

• Data Policies, Methods, & Guidelines • Learning & Skill Development 

• Enterprise Data Governance • Data Culture 

Operations 

3. AmeriCorps Information Model 4. Data in Practice 

• Data Hub • Data as a Product 

• Trusted Data • Self-Service Analytics 

• Data User Support 
Standardized Data 

Roles & Job 

Descriptions 

Pillar 2: Capacity 

Building for Data; 

Workforce Planning 

Including clear data 

expectations 

according to agency 

roles and needs 

MDM, Lineage, & 

Profiling 

Pillar 3: AIM; Develop 

Data Catalog 

Manage core data 

used, track the flow of 

data from sources 

through the data hub 

to analytics tools, and 

automate regular 

profiling 

Prepared Certified 

Data Sets 

Pillar 4: Data in 

Practice; SelfService Analytics 

Replicate trusted for 

easy access by 

AmeriCorps staff. 

Ensure staff can 

identify trusted 

datasets, reports, 

and dashboards 

Highlighted Capabilities 

Data Modernization Roadmap 

29 
Data Governance & Stewardship 

Pillar 1 | Overview 

30 

• Capabilities related to the formal 

orchestration of people, process, and 

technology . 

• These capabilities establish cultural principles 

of participation and responsibility toward 

EDM, engendering transparency and 

inclusivity. 
Strategy & Planning Benefits 

• Enables understanding of how program 

efforts contribute to advancement of 

Strategic goals 

• Enables ongoing awareness of EDM 

current state and obstacles to success 

across the agency to support growth 

toward a data-driven culture 

31 

Data Governance & Stewardship 

Pillar 1| Capability Categories 
Data Policies, Guidelines 

and Methods 

• Creates and refines AmeriCorps data 

policies to support and sustain AIM 

• Enables measurement of policy 

performance across AmeriCorps to 

advance toward ideal state 

32 

Data Governance & Stewardship 

Pillar 1| Capability Categories 
Enterprise Data 

Governance Operations 

• Enables transparency and management of 

assigned EDM roles and responsibilities to 

streamline EDM implementation 

• Standardizes application and 

communication of EDM processes and 

procedures 

• Harnesses standardized processes from the 

Data Stewardship Framework to support 

collective problem solving and decision 

making to meet evolving agency data needs 

33 

Data Governance & Stewardship 

Pillar 1| Capability Categories 
Capacity Building for Data 

Pillar 2 | Overview 

34 

• Capabilities to foster and sustain 

AmeriCorps capacity to 

understand and use trusted data 

as an asset. 

• The capabilities in this pillar 

ensure informed agency input, 

alignment in workforce plans, 

data skills, and communication 

practices. 
Workforce Planning Benefits 

• Ensures inclusion of EDM into agency-wide 

needs and plans 

• Affirms agency’s value of data and data

literacy and related capacity expectations 

and enables tracking of staff growth in these 

areas 

• Enables sustainable growth of data literacy 

content delivery and data champions across 

AmeriCorps 

35 

Capacity Building for Data 

Pillar 2 | Capability Categories 
Learning & Skill Development 

• Underscores importance of foundational data 

literacy among all AmeriCorps staff 

• Enables strategic roll-out of data learning 

pathways across the agency 

• Supports scaffolding of data skills and 

development according to role expectations, 

with attention toward ongoing agency 

changes 

36 

Capacity Building for Data 

Pillar 2 | Capability Categories 
Data Culture 

• Enables sustainable support and 

involvement in capacity building for data 

• Enables strategic communication to shift 

and sustain changes in staff beliefs and 

practices related to data 

• Builds network of data practitioners learning 

together and enables agency-wide 

participation 

37 

Capacity Building for Data 

Pillar 2 | Capability Categories 
AmeriCorps Information Model 

Pillar 3 | Overview 

38 

• Supports strategic objectives 

of the agency. 

• Data is visible, accessible 

understandable, trusted, and 

governed. 
Data Hub 

• All data users easily find the best data for their 

needs using business and technical terms 

• Improve communication using enterprise 

data by establishing a data vocabulary for 

business users 

• Enhanced security measures to safeguard 

sensitive data by automatically classifying all 

data sources 

• Data transparency and lineage from data 

sources to analytics, reports, and dashboards 

39 

AmeriCorps Information Model 

Pillar 3 | Capability Categories 
Trusted Data 

• Trusted data for core data domains and linking 

all data through MDM 

• Improved transparency and quality data 

• Ability to update source systems with corrected 

and enhanced data 

• More comprehensive open data publishing and 

discovery 

40 

AmeriCorps Information Model 

Pillar 3 | Capability Categories 
Data in Practice 

Pillar 4 | Overview 

41 

• Data In Practice delivers the 

ability to find and utilize relevant, 

trusted data for reporting, 

analysis, and making data-driven 

decisions. 

• The central focus of this pillar is to 

manage data as a product. 
Data as a Product 

• Increase in data product usability, quality, 

and ability to integrate data products to 

create new data products 

• Ability to quantitatively measure data 

product quality and contributions to the 

AmeriCorps strategic plan 

42 

Data in Practice 

Pillar 4 | Capability Categories 
Self-Service Analytics 

• Enable power users throughout AmeriCorps 

to quickly and easily build reports and 

dashboards to meet operational needs and 

enable data-driven decisions 

• Better ability to leverage AI and machine 

learning capabilities 

• Ability to share data quickly and securely 

with AmeriCorps partners 

43 

Data in Practice 

Pillar 4 | Capability Categories 
Data User Support 

• Enablement of the AmeriCorps staff to better 

use the enterprise reporting solution 

• Quick resolution to any problems AmeriCorps 

staff encounters with the enterprise reporting 

solution 

44 

Data in Practice 

Pillar 4 | Capability Categories 
AIM for Trusted Data 

AmeriCorps Information Model 

45 

Source Data 

Member 

Grant 

HR 

Finance 

Reference Data 

School Info 

Zip codes 

States 

Enrichment 

Data 

Congressional 

Census 

DATA HUB 

Raw Data 

Data 

Governance 

DATA USE 

Profiling, Data 

Quality, Enrichment 

& Transformation 

MDM 

Integrity 

Feedback Loop 

AMERICORPS DATA 

CONSUMERS 

AmeriCorps Staff | Public partners | Researchers | 

Grantees | State & National Commissions | Tribal 

groups | OMB | White House | Federal entities 

Power BI 

(Viz, Analytics) 

Open Data 

Machine Learning 

Data 

Sharing 

TRUSTED DATA 
AmeriCorps Context 

• Clear, agreed-upon language supports effective communication and 

connection. 

FOUNDATIONAL (To read, write & communicate with data in context.) 

INTERMEDIATE (To apply and create.) 

ADVANCED (To 

coach & help others.) 

Data 

within a 

Role 

Data 

as a Role 

Data 

day-to-day 

Personal 

Life 

Work 

Life 

FOUNDATIONAL 

LITERACY is our 

common ground. 

Data-Informed Leadership 

DATA 

LITERACY 

DATA IN 

ROLES 
Nathaniel H. Benjamin 

Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer, AmeriCorps 
ODEIA: Strengthening lives and leading the way in strategic diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. 

“Diversity boosts creativity and

innovation, leads to better decisionmaking, and results in a more 

professionally enriching 

environment” 

– Harvard Business Review 
ODEIA: Strengthening lives and leading the way in strategic diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. 

Three Ways to Lead Culture Using Data 

Embed DEIA transformation into business practices, policies, and 

procedures 

Increase equity opportunities 

Develop an inclusive organizational culture 
ODEIA: Strengthening lives and leading the way in strategic diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility.

DEIA Transformation 

Develop DEIA 

strategy 

Cascade strategy 

goals from 

organization’s 

strategic plan 

Align DEIA 

outcomes to 

organizational 

success 

Position fiscal 

budgeting to 

bottom line 

Engage with all 

stakeholders 

immediately 

Execute 

communication 

and marketing 

plan 
ODEIA: Strengthening lives and leading the way in strategic diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility.

DEIA is 

Measurable 

• In FY22, OPM revised the FEVS to include a 

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility 

(DEIA) Index which assesses employee 

experiences with DEIA policies, practices, and 

procedures regarding their agency and its 

leaders. 

• The index is specifically designed to align with 

EO 14035 and features the four components 

in the EO: diversity, equity, inclusion, and 

accessibility. 

• These government-wide results will serve as a 

baseline to assess future changes, as well as 

benchmark comparisons for agency DEIA 

initiatives. 
Kyle Brees, MA 

Research Analyst, Office of Research and Evaluation, 

AmeriCorps 

Reinforcing What Was Learned From the Panelists 
Some Examples, revisited? 

53 

• Participatory research methods 

• Company benchmarking measures 

• Collection of race and ethnicity 

• Community Town Hall 

• Data Education 

• Data Tools 

• Equity Lens and Framework 
Recap of Best Practices 

54 

Best Practices 

• Include and align community goals with 

federal goals 

• Identify and plan for specific capabilities 

needed by Federal agencies and 

community partners 

• Review existing federal data governance 

structures 

• Establish data standards and principles to 

support non-federal data collection and 

analysis 

Challenges 

• Federal statutes, regulations, and other 

program requirements 

• Federal and community resources can 

limit scope of collaboration 

• Trust and historical relationships between 

government and communities 
Laura H. Schlachter, PhD 

Research Analyst, Office of Research and Evaluation, 

AmeriCorps 

Q&A Panel Facilitator 
Q & A Panel Discussion: 

• Kyle Brees, MA, Research Analyst, AmeriCorps 

• Robin Ghertner, PhD, Director of Data and Technical 

Analysis, Office of Human Services Policy, HHA/ASPE 

• Andrea Gibbons, CDMP Chief Data Officer, AmeriCorps 

• Nathaniel H. Benjamin, Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer, 

AmeriCorps 
Thank you for attending today’s webinar 

Join us in our year long Celebration of Service and 

Its Evidence Story. 

Our next Webinar: 

AmeriCorps ROI Studies: Proof that the Cost of 

‘Doing Good’ Benefits the Personal, Community and

Federal Bottomline will be 12/14 from 2:30-4pm EST 

The recording and support materials for this webinar 

will be provided in the next two weeks on the 

AmeriCorps Our Impact Webinar page and 

AmeriCorps R&E YouTube Playlist 

To inquire about the work presented in this webinar, 

please reach out to Evaluation@cns.gov