Maximizing the Use of Integrated Data Systems: Understanding the Challenges and Advancing Solutions

Abstract

State and local governments are seeking to use their health, education, and human services administrative data to address major social problems. As they attempt to move forward to develop and use integrated data systems (IDS), they have encountered substantial challenges. The Actionable Intelligence for Social Policy (AISP) team at the University of Pennsylvania targeted four common sets of challenges to IDS use: IDS governance, legal agreements, technology and data security, and data standards. The purpose of this article is to present the results from a year-long convening of four panels of national experts in each of these key topic areas. The results specify the greatest IDS challenges in each of these areas, and develop state-of-the-art responses to innovate the IDS field. It discusses how these solutions promote more effective, efficient, and routine use of IDS that are scalable to advance the IDS field beyond these current limitations in practice.