Technology can be your friend. In the 1970s, HMDA data was analyzed with hand-held calculators. In the 80s, regulators were forced to computerize the data, but that improved access only for people with mainframe computers. After the dramatic expansion of the data in 1989, its shear bulk made it inaccessible for many community groups. Fortunately, the proliferation of PCs and the distribution of the data on diskette and CD ROM have eased access somewhat.
Training is crucial.
As important as access to the data may be, helping groups understand how to interpret it is even more important. In the end, when community leaders sit across the table from bank officials discussing the bank's lending record in their neighborhood and ways to improve its performance, they have to understand what the numbers mean and how they were developed. Very little funding has been available for this kind of technical assistance, even from funders who have been willing to support some HMDA-related technology. Think what could happen if there were even just a little more support for this work. Over time, and with much effort, HMDA has become institutionalized.