ANALYTICS & BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE

On December 12, 2018, Penn State’s second annual Data Summit attracted over two hundred participants to the Penn Stater Hotel and Conference Center and dozens more to Commonwealth Campuses. This summit continued a conversation about the Penn State data ecosystem that formally began at the October, 2017 event. University leaders shared progress made since the first event, various offices and groups gave updates about their data activities, and the broader community engaged in a discussion about Penn State’s data ecosystem vision and future.

The 2018 summit opened with welcoming remarks from the Vice Provost for the Office of Planning and Assessment, Lance Kennedy-Phillips, and Vice President for IT and Chief Information Officer, Michael Kubit. Senior Director for Business Intelligence, Jon Crutchfield, and Associate Vice Provost for Institutional Research, Lori Hancock, followed with a more detailed overview of the past, present and future of analytics and Business Intelligence (BI) at Penn State.

The day included a full agenda:

• Crutchfield and Hancock highlighted the increased range of information now available through iTwo as well as launching a new project to define and build the technology components of the analytics and BI ecosystem. They also explained the importance of data governance how it will improve at Penn State in the coming period.
• Working groups that focused on key components of data governance over the past year presented their findings. Andrew Watters, Research and Analysis Associate for the Office of the Vice President and Dean for Undergraduate Education, provided an update on the work of the team charged with testing a proposed data governance framework. Karen Henninger, Engagement Director for Business Intelligence, updated attendees on the work of the business glossary and data dictionary team. Dan Coughlin, IT Manager for Digital Scholarship and Repository Development in University Libraries, concluded the presentation with an update on the progress made by the Data Dictionary software tool selection team.
• Senior Strategic Consultant Angela Baldasare gave the keynote address, which provided practical advice on data use at research institutions. Among the key data needs Baldasare identified for Research-I institutions were “the ability for data to inform continuous innovation and improvement.” She also reminded the audience that “data is a community good.”
• Two breakout discussions were held in which participants were able to provide feedback on the development of the University’s analytics and BI ecosystem, as well as a forthcoming update to the Penn State Fact Book.

The morning activity focused on developing a preliminary vision for the future Analytics and Business Intelligence Data Ecosystem. Each table and campus rendezvous location discussed the current and desired state of data and its contexts at Penn State.

A thematic analysis revealed responses grouped in areas such as Data, Access & Availability, and Tools. Below are some highlights of the community’s vision:

Participants were asked to review the current Penn State Fact Book and provide suggestions for its redesign. The feedback was informative and the new factbook is already in the early conceptual design stage within the Office of Planning and Assessment.

Feedback examples included but are not limited to the following:

• Making the site more interactive via drill-throughs and drop-downs.
• More visuals
• Navigational and interface improvements
• Expand topics included in the data reported.

Following Summit 2018, a satisfaction survey was distributed to participants via email. From the roughly 250 participants, 85 responded for a ~34% response rate. Overall responses were positive with much constructive feedback to inform future University conversations on analytics and BI strategy and the development of our future data ecosystem. In order of importance, participants found the following items most useful:

1. Networking, table discussions, and community interaction
2. Progress and working group updates
3. Keynote speaker
4. Lightning talks

For future analytics & BI conversations with the University community and next steps, Summit participants recommended the following:

• More inclusive attendee list
• Agenda provided sooner, along with pre-work
• More community involvement as the future data ecosystem initiative continues and future data summits are held
• More action items coming from the summit as well as concrete directions and next steps

Overall, the survey results reinforced that the data community at Penn State is highly engaged in the concept of a future data ecosystem and that there is a clear desire to be involved in discussions and decisions moving forward.