IEI-SLDS Use Case: Outcome Harmonization – Re-Imagining the American Safety Net

IEI-SLDS Use Case: Outcome Harmonization – Re-Imagining the American Safety Net

National Minority Technology Council Looking Forward Research & Development Public Comment: Docket ID USBC-2018-0011 Data Incubator Project Stakeholder Use Case Recommendation IEI-SLDS Use Case: Outcome Harmonization – Re-Imagining the American Safety Net

Algorithms that link calculated datasets as predictive exchanges will soon prove the value of smart contracts, governed workflow and merit-based entitlement payout systems focused on outcomes rather than outputs. In order to frame the possibility of a new roadmap to wealth and prosperity for every American we need a baseline that can keep up with iterative change and industry input.

The Integrated Economic Indictor State Longitudinal Data System (IEI-SLDS) Use Case frames a new methodology that leverages data to support the mission of preparing American’s for success in a globally competitive world by creating digital outcomes that will be able to predict program success and investment ROI. As a 501(c)6 non-stock trade association we recognize that our members and stakeholders exist in an ecosystem where human capital growth is a function of love, learning and livelihood. Our petition that the U.S. Government consider industry as a valid input towards change and innovation is matched with deep respect with regards to the depth of knowledge born and incubated in our federal research complex.

We further ask consideration to the IEI-SLDS Use Case submitted as our Public Comment.

Federal Data Strategy Use Case Click to View Federal Website

Karl Cureton, Executive Chairman

IEI-SLDS Use Case Transition America

Virginia Career Education Foundation

Game Changer Use Case www.nmtcouncil.org Public Comment: Docket ID USBC-2018-0011

IEI-SLDS USE CASE

National Minority Technology Council Looking Forward Research & Development

Data Incubator Project Stakeholder Use Case Recommendation

Outcome Harmonization – Re-Imagining the American Safety Net Over the past eight years the National Minority Technology Council (NMTC) has investigated the merit of integrating the State Longitudinal Data System (SLDS)1 data sets found in each State with other key economic data in an effort to both create a data scheme to connect State and Local funding to Federal expectations, while focusing on the need for the processing power of federal High-Performance Computing.

This Integrated Economic Indicator Use Case utilizing SLDS (IEI-SLDS) affords the contemplation of a national data harmonizing effort to bring together the disconnected “Social Safety Net” here in America into a transformational predictive system that allows for better policy decision making and innovation, in areas that help put American’s to work.

Education and training today are a converging landscape. Over the past three years NMTC has worked with the Virginia Career Education Foundation (VCEF www.vcefworks.org)2 to develop interoperability methodologies that work towards connecting purpose to mission. Given the recent reform plan and reorganization recommendations provided in the document, “Delivering Government Solutions in the 21st Century, Reform Plan and Reorganization Recommendations”3 for the Department of Education and the workforce which articulates the recommendation to merge the Dept. of Education (ED) and Labor (DOL) into a single Cabinet agency, the Department of Education and the Workforce (DEW), the IEI-SLDS Use Case seems timely.

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IEI-SLDS Use Case

National Minority Technology Council Looking Forward Research & Development

The IEI-SLDS Use Case frames a new methodology that leverages data to support the mission of preparing Americans for success in a globally competitive world by creating digital outcomes that will be able to predict program success and investment ROI. Below (Figure 2) is a schema to harmonize the fragmented workforce development programs and processes into a comprehensive workforce data management ecosystem to harmonize and leverage data and data patterns within and across P-20W (early learning through the workforce).

Our industry trade association took on the task to communicate and collaborate with P-20W institutions and sectors within the human capital sector to develop public value mapping to conceptualize an approach that could be adopted and improved with federal government stewardship.

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IEI-SLDS Use Case Above is a framework that was jointly developed through collaboration between the industry subject matter experts associated with NMTC and the State and Local Education and Labor partners located in Virginia associated with VCEF. This highlevel framework was envisioned to help education and workforce stakeholders conceptualize that data harmonization will allow for new “dashboards” that will generate new contexts for decision making not currently available.

National Minority Technology Council Looking Forward Research & Development

Given the emergency need for a skilled workforce and the disconnect between learning outcomes and industry requirements and the desire for American citizens to enjoy the benefits of work more resources need to be targeted towards training and development. In order to ensure targeted grant funding makes a difference the IEI-SLDS Use Case has a unique opportunity to align top level stakeholders into a room to discuss change. This is by no means a start-up effort as both DOL and ED have, albeit in silos, worked towards solving the workforce challenge utilizing a data-driven approach. DEW allows for a more robust mission that would more directly serve a growth mission. The Common Education Data Standards Initiative (CEDS Initiative)4 “includes a common vocabulary, data models that reflect that vocabulary, tools to help education stakeholders understand and use education data, an assembly of metadata from other education data initiatives, and a community of education stakeholders who discuss the uses of CEDS and the development of the standard”.

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IEI-SLDS Use Case

National Minority Technology Council Looking Forward Research & Development

Stakeholder engagement is critical on many levels; form follows function. This industry recommendation is asking the U.S. Department of Commerce, Under Secretary for Economic Affairs to establish a federal working group to include DOL, DE, DOC, HHS, USDA, HUD, DHS and OPM to improve their ability to understand how programs aimed to reduce poverty can be in part transformed into programs that lift citizens from poverty to high skilled jobs and entrepreneurial activities like cyber security.

Data is indeed a strategic asset and it must be leveraged to grow our economy. NMTC further recommends adding state, local, industry and NGO partners to the working group at the beginning. This Administration’s appetite for Public/Private partnership is encouraging and we believe this IEI-SLDS Use Case will build confidence from the citizenry that their vices are being heard that government needs to reform in a way that promotes growth and reduces the silos in the federal government that can be attributed to the systemic moral hazard found in government program implementation and lack of outcome metrics.

The IEI-SLDS Use Case will also promote greater commercialization and innovation in the areas of workforce readiness. NMTC believes the investment community feels locked out of the education community. Models like “Pay for Success” require both qualitative and quantitative outcome measurements. Currently the “graduate and done” system of check and balance does not monitor the longitudinal nature of learning in the 21st Century Knowledge Economy. Initiating IEI-SLDS will spawn additional research activities in Artificial Intelligence, Performance Modeling, and Outcome Research geared to measure the nexus between education relevance and economic growth.

At the core the U.S. is a global source of hope and wonder. We as a nation have solved problems in a manner that has changed the standard of living for those who enjoy the right to live in this great country. Now more than ever we need not fear the size of the climb born from the idea that we can frame a new way of measuring learning success through the measurement of economic trends gathered at the individual level. In fact, now is the time to utilize the full capacity and intellect of our nation to support the idea that every American has the right to learn and be prosperous. As our economy continues to boom our need for improved human capacity will rise. It is our hope as an industry codified to support the minority technology industry that our federal government will take this baton we have carried and support our idea that to build our Republic we must have all hands-on deck.

Thank you for the opportunity to bring voice to innovation. The National Minority Technology Council (NMTC) is actively serving our nation by engaging in strategic designbased research while acting as a steward to the over 65,000 U.S. owned minority technology companies with combined annual sales of over $100 Billion. This fast-growing U.S. based industry sector employs over 500,000 people both here in America and around

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National Minority Technology Council Looking Forward Research & Development

the world. NMTC is organized as a 501c6 Virginia non-stock industry trade association.

NMTC recognizes that building consensus around outcomes requires an integrated approach. Given our industry perspective that our workforce system is not keeping pace with demand and in our more disenfranchised communities this is a national crisis that is in proportion to an issue to our national security as it pertains to our economy.

As we move further into the 21st Century we must embrace our national capacity for selfdetermination, prosperity, and global resilience. As you consider the validity of our need as a nation to better align our data assets with outcomes born from public dollars we as industry will continue to innovate and bring the natural resource of human intellect. Our team of Sr. Fellows, the existence of the many minority technology companies and the will of government, education and the non-profit and philanthropic communities will bring governance to status quo and results to our efforts to create wealth to our nation and our citizenry.

Karl Cureton, Founder and Executive Chairman National Minority Technology Council Karl.Cureton@NMTCouncil.org 202-744-3782 www.nmtcouncil.org

Listing of Council Websites http://web.nmtcouncil.org/nmtcwebsites Listing of Council Documents https://issuu.com/nmtcdoc

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IEI-SLDS Use Case

REFERENCES

1 Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems Grant Program (SLDS)

National Minority Technology Council Looking Forward Research & Development

https://nces.ed.gov/programs/slds/

2 Virginia Career Education Foundation (VCEF) http://www.vcefworks.org

3 Delivering Government Solutions in the 21st Century https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/4548493-Delivering-GovernmentSolutions-in-the-21st.html

4 Common Education Data Standards Initiative https://ceds.ed.gov/whatIsCEDS.aspx

5 Fueling High-Tech Growth through Minority Business https://www.commerce.gov/news/blog/2015/08/fueling-high-tech-growth-throughminority-businesses

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