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SLDS State Support Team Webinar
SLDS Webinar
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Strategies for Engaging Early Learning Stakeholders
Strategies for Engaging Early Learning Stakeholders
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PanelistsAmy Nicholas, DaSy/Johns Hopkins University Elliot Regenstein, Ounce of Prevention FundHilary Shager, Wisconsin (Hilary is not able to join us today but is available for questions via email)Missy Cochenour, State Support Team
Welcome
• Provide an overview of how to engage stakeholders in developing an early childhood integrated data system (ECIDS)• Provide strategies learned and shared by
other states as they have engaged early childhood stakeholders• Share resources to help states developing
an ECIDS to engage the appropriate stakeholders• Discuss the difference between stakeholder
engagement and data governance
Objective
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Overview
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What is a stakeholder? What is stakeholder engagement?
Overview
• Stakeholders: Individuals who are either affected by or responsible for the outcomes of a project or initiative• Stakeholder engagement: The use of
stakeholders as participants in a collaborative decisionmaking process that guides the creation and execution of a defined scope of work
Overview
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Why should we engage stakeholders while developing an ECIDS? Why should stakeholders care?
Overview
Why should we engage stakeholders?• Generally, to inform the process of
developing an ECIDS to ensure it meets their needs as the users.• If the goal is to help stakeholders make
better decisions through better data, it is essential to engage stakeholders in identifying their key decisions as well as what data are needed to help make those decisions.
Overview
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Why should stakeholders care?• In a competitive funding environment,
data systems do not always have a natural constituency. Engaging stakeholders early in the process helps them understand how it can help them with their work, which in turn encourages them to become advocates for the system.
Overview
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Who are the appropriate
stakeholders to engage while
developing an ECIDS?
State Advocates and Leaders• Early Learning Councils• Governor’s Office • Cross-agency leadership
Program Representatives• Early learning program administrators (cross
agencies/programs)• Head Start Collaboration Office
Partners • K12/P-20 SLDS partners• Parents and families• Universities and researchers• Private local and statewide EC foundations and forums
Identifying Stakeholders
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How to categorize essential stakeholders• Identify stakeholders who are essential to
the project in terms of roles, then in terms of people:
Identifying Stakeholders
oSupporteroImplementeroLeaderoUser
oDecisionmakeroConsultant
• Categorize key agencies, leaders (decisionmakers and spokespersons), and workers• Document the process for selecting
various stakeholders 13
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Why is the state’s Early Childhood Advisory Council important?• The councils were designed to provide a centralized
coordinating body for strategic planning and early learning data analysis.
• The councils are required by federal legislation to have diverse representation, giving states a “ready made” stakeholder group.
• Many state councils have already developed or are in the process of developing a data workgroup/committee to look at coordinating data among early learning programs.
• Federal legislation for the councils includes questions that must be answered annually to the state’s governor, along with recommendations for future early learning state investments.
• Councils are required to make recommendations for the design of a unified data system.
Identifying Stakeholders
Wisconsin stakeholders engaged from the beginning:• Governor’s Early Childhood Advisory Council (ECAC)• Cross-agency partners and leadership• P-20W SLDS partners• Early learning program administrators (cross agencies/programs)• Head Start Collaboration Office• Parents and families• Universities and researchers• Private local and statewide EC foundations and forums
Why?• ECAC provided some funding• To inform• To gather input• To solicit participation in workgroups
Wisconsin Example
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Plan for organizational change• Bringing on new stakeholders can be
unexpected, such as during a leadership transition. To prepare, develop signature slides that quickly and concisely speak to the vision, mission, and purpose of the project, and develop training materials for new staff and/or leadership. • Keep up with changes in staff and
leadership, and acclimate new members to the project plan quickly.
Wisconsin Example
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Strategies to engage stakeholders while
developing an ECIDS
• One of the most important things in the process is that each stakeholder knows why they are involved in the conversation and what their role is in the process.
• The following strategies include ideas to consider when developing a plan for successful stakeholder engagement.
Strategies for Engagement
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Strategy 1: Conduct an ECIDS data
roundtable with stakeholders
Wisconsin conducted a data roundtable during the feasibility study (planning) year of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Data System (EC LDS) Project
Wisconsin Example
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Goal of Wisconsin’s Data Roundtable: • Provide information about the EC LDS and
solicit support• Provide examples of EC LDS models from other
states• Develop underlying policy questions• Initiate alignment of data elements to key
policy questions• Review and improve the project communication
plan• Initiate workgroups to make recommendations
for governance, unique identifiers, capacity, sustainability, potential system architecture, and stakeholder engagement
Participants: • All stakeholders
Wisconsin Example
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How it was done: • All day meeting, offsite, with snacks and
lunch provided so participants could work throughout the day• Presenters were various state leaders, SST,
and Elliot• Started with an overview and moved into
discussion groups• Sent out a survey afterward to get the next
steps started (workgroup-development volunteers from stakeholders)• Data Roundtable Report to summarize the
day
Wisconsin Example
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Other states that have done a data roundtable: • Oklahoma• Georgia• Connecticut
Data Roundtable
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Strategy 2: Use stakeholders to
establish the essential policy and
program questions to be answered using
the ECIDS
States that have created essential questions used their stakeholders strategically to help develop questions• Started with ECDC questions • Tailored the questions to meet their
needs
Essential Questions
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Essential Questions
1. Identify key end users
2. Identify key
questions
3. Identify specific
sub-questions
4. Identify the data
fields that answer the
key questions
5. Identify where, if
anywhere, those
fields are collected
6. Identify changes
needed for data
collection
7. Identify how to add
and link data to
answer key questions
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In July 2009, ECDC convened a meeting with 40-50 thought leaders around the country to prioritize key policy questions states want and need to answer.• What’s going on with kids in terms of access and
development?• What does program quality look like?• What does the workforce look like and are they well-
supported?Once the collaborative developed these key policy questions, the next step was to understand what type of information and system structure is needed for states to get these answers. • The 10 fundamentals developed by ECDC was created to
give states a framework for getting at these answers.
Essential Questions
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Resulting ECDC questions:1. Are children, birth to age 5, on track to succeed
when they enter school and beyond?2. Which children have access to high-quality early
care and education programs?3. Is the quality of programs improving?4. What are the characteristics of effective programs?5. How prepared is the early care and education
workforce to provide effective education and care for all children?
6. What policies and investments lead to a skilled and stable early care and education workforce?
Essential Questions
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• National guidance was provided by the Early Childhood Data Collaborative, as well as the Data Quality Campaign
• Guidance was considered in the creation of the five questions Wisconsin wants to answer
• Questions were vetted by early childhood system stakeholders during the Early Childhood Collaborating Partners video conference on August 11, 2011
Wisconsin Example
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Wisconsin tailored the ECDC questions to meet the state’s needs:1. Are children, birth to 5, on track to succeed
when they enter school and beyond?2. Which children and families are and are not
being served by which programs/services?3. Which children have access to high-quality early
childhood programs and services?4. What characteristics of programs are associated
with positive child outcomes for which children?5. What are the education and economic returns on
early childhood investments?
Wisconsin Example
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Strategy 3: Use stakeholder
workgroups to help inform the process of ECIDS development by using interest areas to
keep users engaged
Why are workgroups important?• A way to keep stakeholders involved• Use the strengths of each stakeholder• Can move quickly in smaller groups that
make recommendations
Stakeholder Workgroups
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• Stakeholder workgroups produced recommendation papers on the topics of governance, unique identifiers, capacity, sustainability, system architecture, and stakeholder engagement
• Composition of workgroups: o Cross-departmental program memberso Non-governmental participants by invitation o Enlisted the help of SST to learn best practice
approaches to topic
Wisconsin Example
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Lessons learned from states:• Illinois identified roles that are clearly roles for
state agency stakeholders as opposed to external stakeholders (targeted group and outcome)
• When state agencies are engaged in contracting and bidding work but want outside advice, the state can provide waivers to allow outside partners to participate in strategic conversations without violating procurement laws. Outside partners who sign the waivers commit that they will not share information with potential bidders or bid themselves.
Stakeholder Workgroups
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Strategy 4: Develop communication tools
to reach various stakeholders and the
agencies they represent
Communication tools are important because they:• Help keep stakeholders informed• Solicit feedback• Allow representation from many
agencies
Communication Tools
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To develop stakeholder trust in the process:• Be responsive and timely. • Use technology to help—webinars, web pages,
conference calls, electronic communication methods, and document servers can assist with collaborative planning.
• Give stakeholders dates and times when the communication team will deliver materials and publications. Build trust among these groups by sticking to the state’s project plan and facilitating ongoing communication.
• Above all, listen and follow up promptly.
Communication Tools
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Overall Communication PlanSpecifics:• Website • Newsletters• Meetings/Presentations
(Status/Planning, Project Kick-Off, Departmental Briefings, Out Reach to Community Partners)
• Data Roundtable• Data Governance Workshop
Wisconsin Example
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What do stakeholders need
to engage in ECIDS activities?
Program stakeholders must understand:• The state data landscape• The benefits of a coordinated data system
to their program • The data their program can offer to add
depth and breadth to the system• Their program-specific audiences and data
consumers, and those individuals’ priorities• Questions they would like to answer but are
not yet able to
Stakeholder Needs
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Understanding these things gives stakeholders the opportunity to:• Realize the benefits of the work• Represent their program’s interest so
that benefits are realized• Identify and articulate what they would
like to accomplish by being involved in the work
Stakeholder Needs
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Helpful Tools• SLDS Stakeholder Engagement Plan Template
(applicable for Early Learning)• Early Learning Planning Guide and Self-Assessment• Wisconsin EC LDS project website:
http://wise.dpi.wi.gov/wise_p20ec (Available documents: Feasibility Study Communication Plan, Work Group Recommendations, Roundtable Agenda and Report, and more)
Stakeholder Needs
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What is the difference between stakeholder
engagement and data governance?
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Stakeholder Engagement vs. Data Governance
Membership• Stakeholder engagement: Users of the ECIDS data and those directly or indirectly affected by its use (including data governance members).• Data governance: Representatives (leadership, program, and IT staff) from each agency or program contributing data to the ECIDS.
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Stakeholder Engagement vs. Data Governance
Level of Engagement• Stakeholder engagement: Varies by stakeholder group. Will increase and decrease over the course of the project and resulting program depending upon need and focus.• Data governance: High and consistent throughout the life of the project and program. Will continue after the system is developed.
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Stakeholder Engagement vs. Data Governance
Responsibilities/Decisionmaking Authority• Stakeholder engagement:
Members inform and influence the overall direction, priorities, and implementation of the ECIDS.• Data governance: Members determine the
overall direction, priorities, and implementation of the ECIDS.
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SLDS State Support Team Webinar
Questions or comments?
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State Support Team & SLDS Team: Missy Cochenour, (909) [email protected] Maddie Fromell, (202) [email protected]
Panelists:Amy Nicholas, [email protected] Regenstein, [email protected] Hilary Shager, [email protected]
Contacts