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C H A M IN A DE MAGAZI NE
COL L A B ORAT IVE
VIS ION :
Wai'anae Coast Community Scorecard and Dashboard Project AS PART OF AN INNOVATIVE PARTNERSHIP, CHAMINADE UNIVERSITY DATA
SCIENCE STUDENTS TEAMED UP WITH COMMUNITY GROUPS TO DEVELOP A WAI'ANAE COAST COMMUNITY SCORECARD AND DASHBOARD.
This scorecard and dashboard project was designed to be regularly conducted to measure community sentiment and report results that are meaningful, actionable and easy to use. The results will shine a spotlight on areas of opportunity and community wellbeing, and will help prioritize initiatives. Dr. Helen Turner, vice president of Chaminade’s Center for Strategy and Innovation and Data Science faculty member, says, “This project is part of a broader vision that embraces Chaminade University’s ‘community first’ approach and the work done at the Center to foster an Innovation Moku in the Wai'anae Coast to build a refreshed economic reality that is resilient and fits with community priorities and wishes.” The project advisors are Dr. Rylan Chong, director of the Data Science program and assistant professor; and Executive Director of the Wai'anae Economic Development Council and Wai'anae Moku Navigators, Joseph Lapilio.
Lapilio says, “The Wai'anae Moku Navigators, made up of more than two dozen community organizations, is excited about the Chaminade Innovation Moku partnership and the prospect of having a reliable—and replicable—tool for gauging public opinion, welfare, wellbeing and key quality-of-life metrics on the Wai'anae Coast. A lot of what we do is based on anecdotes or emotional reactions to issues going on. But actual data,” Lapilio said, “has power that could incite real action.” T H E PA R T N E R S H I P : W O R K I N G , LEARNING AND GROWING TOGETHER
The Wai'anae Coast Community Scorecard and Dashboard project was first piloted in Fall 2020 and continued through Spring 2021. Students enrolled in DS 301: CommunityEngaged Computing worked with the Wai'anae Moku Navigators and the Wai'anae Economic Development Council to create an initial scorecard and dashboard.
Lapilio said he’s been “very impressed with how hard [Dr. Chong] and his students have worked on the project. Rylan has been extremely open to community input,” he said. “Our longterm goal is not only in terms of a scorecard. It is also in terms of—how do we connect community members to data collection so it is more than just us? How do we work together? How do we connect?” The scorecard hasn’t merely been an academic exercise, but a growing experience for Chaminade students and for members of the community. “They need to be able to engage with the community, to see the community as a partner in this work,” Lapilio said. The next step for this project is launching the initial scorecard to a test group before taking the scorecard community-wide to collect responses. The scorecard incorporates a host of data points, including information on food security, household income, housing, health, feelings about safety, technology infrastructure and acceptance, and a sense of belonging.
