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

Princeton University, Princeton NJ

Investigators

Abstract

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.