NNIP Welcomes Data You Can Use as its Milwaukee Partner

NNIP is very excited to announce the acceptance of the nonprofit Data You Can Use (DYCU) in Milwaukee as the newest Partner organization. DYCU focuses on assisting organizations and residents in low-income neighborhoods to access, understand, and use data to influence policy and increase resources. DYCU is co-located with the Zilber School of Public Health at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the City of Milwaukee Health Department, where they promote community engagement by linking neighborhood groups to public health faculty.  

DYCU also serves as a founding partner of Healthier, Safer, More Prosperous Milwaukee, a cross-sector effort to integrate perspectives, approaches and data to build a stronger community. The group was the co-sponsor of DYCU’s second annual Data Day in May 2017, which drew more than 90 neighborhood champions, data scientists, government leaders, researchers and data visualization specialists. The day’s activities focused on high quality, actionable data in the areas of criminal justice, public health and community development and was a mix of plenary speakers, small group sessions, and short presentations from 14 public and nonprofit agencies. To mark the occasion, Mayor Tom Barrett proclaimed May 31 “Data Day” for the city. 

DYCU was also selected to participate in the NNIP cross-site initiative Turning the Corner. Coordinated by NNIP and the Federal Reserve-Philanthropy Initiative, local coalitions in five cities are monitoring neighborhood change to support informed displacement prevention and inclusive revitalization. Through this project, DYCU is playing a critical role in connecting the multiple public and philanthropic efforts to promote equitable development in the city, including examining indicators of gentrification and exploring new policy approaches. The project will focus on Brewers Hill and Walker’s Point, two neighborhoods adjacent to downtown that have benefited from downtown growth and development.

The NNIP network will greatly benefit from DYCU’s expertise in working with residents to co-design data resources tailored to the neighborhood’s needs and interests. For example, in partnership with the Nonprofit Center, Data You Can Use worked with neighborhood leaders in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Neighborhood Strategic Planning areas to collect and identify data that would be useful to them in creating their neighborhood plans.  Representatives from nine neighborhoods came together and jointly determined what core indicators would be useful for them in writing grants, describing challenges, and planning initiatives. The process included resident interpretation of the data and the inclusion of indicators of assets in the neighborhood.

For more examples of DYCU’s work in democratizing data, visit their NNIP Profile. One of the roles of the NNIP network is to promote the development of local data intermediaries in new cities. Learn more about becoming an NNIP partner.