State data hub expands EEC access and research capacity; agency refreshes research agenda
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Summary
Education-to-Career (E2C) Research and Data Hub leaders told the board the hub now hosts over 70 datasets, offers downloadable KPI data and an API, and is building data stories and tools to make education data more accessible; EEC also updated its research agenda and launched a Data Advisory Commission.
EEC staff and the Education-to-Career (E2C) Research and Data Hub presented a progress report on efforts to centralize education data, expand public access, and support research tied to early childhood outcomes.
Sam Ribnick, executive director of the E2C hub, described the platform as a "front door for data" that aggregates datasets from the three education agencies and provides standardized, downloadable datasets, interactive data stories and an API that allow researchers and the public to reuse the data. Ribnick said the hub currently includes more than 70 multi-year datasets and that several additional early childhood datasets will be added soon. He noted the hub is exploring AI tools to let users ask questions and receive charts and analysis automatically.
EEC staff emphasized the twin goals of public-facing transparency and back-end data integration. Presenters highlighted recent work to make the EEC KPI dashboard data downloadable through the hub, to publish data briefs on CCFA, C3 and CPPI, and to embed analysts with program teams to improve data governance and utility. They also described integration challenges: cross-agency access rules and governance make some integrated datasets labor intensive to use and limit self-service availability for sensitive linked data.
The board heard that the E2C effort benefitted from federal longitudinal-data grants in earlier phases and from a capital investment by the Executive Office of Technology and Security Services (EOTSS) to expand capabilities. EEC described an updated research agenda aligned to the agency's strategic action plan and the new Early Education and Care Data Advisory Commission — created by the FY25 budget — which is advising on research priorities and will publish recommendations in an annual report.
Next steps noted for public engagement include an Open Data Day event (March 11) and ongoing work to make all KPI dashboard visualizations downloadable from the hub. Staff encouraged researchers and stakeholders to consult the agency research agenda and to contact the research and data team for partnership opportunities.