Jason Lally

🛠️ Currently building the beta version of the MapAgora Dashboard — part of the Mapping the Modern Agora project. This dashboard is powered by datasets derived from IRS filings and website text from over 1.8 million U.S. nonprofit organizations, mapping civic opportunity across ZIP codes and counties. It’s fully open source and built for reuse. The beta includes: 🗺️ An interactive map 📋 An interactive table 📂 Three datasets: one organization-level and two aggregated (ZIP code and county) 📄 A data paper describing the methodology and validation More updates soon — stay tuned!

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One of our most meaningful recent projects was a video series for tribal community leaders. The series discusses the need to keep members’ data safe, secure, and under their control, especially in public health research. Commentary from Native American researchers mix with powerful animated illustrations to encourage trust in the processes and protocols in development.  (Illustrations: Maddie Sanders). https://lnkd.in/eXCU4RWc

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The Gap Map tutorial video provides a brief overview of how to get the most out of The Gap Map, an interactive dashboard illustrating key data relating to housing affordability throughout Colorado. The Gap Map can be accessed directly at url.chfainfo.com/gapmap.

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New Blog: "Bridging Data Gaps: How Cross-Survey Modeling Enhances Census Bureau Measures" --Chase Sawyer, Technical Lead for Modeled Data Product Development, Social, Economic, and Housing Statistics Division, US Census Bureau (Aug 5, 2025) One way to increase the value of official statistics is to squeeze more insights out of the data in hand -- at no new burden to the public. Cross-survey modeling is not the low hanging fruit; it's the fruit laying on the ground. These new methods fill gaps, leverage sources, amplify signals, enhance knowledge, and extend the lifetime utility of data provided by the public for statistical purposes. Read more about it in this piece where Chase describes cross-survey modeling, a robust process that enhances the usefulness of federal data products by bridging the gaps between surveys. Products communities use every day. https://lnkd.in/edAK-Eti #censusdata #bridging #harmonization #modeltraining #calibration #spatialsmoothing #fedstats

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Policy outcomes are not produced by intent alone. They are shaped by institutional design, diagnostic rigor, and delivery constraints embedded deep within public systems. At Statecraft Lab, our work interrogates how policies actually function by examining design deficits, diagnostic blind spots, and capacity-bound delivery limits that govern outcomes long before results surface. This is not prescriptive commentary. It is method-driven policy analysis, grounded in institutional realism, state capacity, and implementation logic. Design · Diagnose · Deliver.

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September is around the corner, which means "Backlog Reduction" is back in vogue. Last week, DOJ’s Office of Information Policy (OIP) issued new guidance on FOIA Backlog Reduction Plans. https://lnkd.in/ee99_5tr It asks agencies to: 👍 Treat plans as living documents 👍 Engage senior leaders, including CFOs 👍 Tailor strategies to agency-specific realities This is a huge step forward and great guidance. Agencies like the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs proved what’s possible, cutting backlog to historic lows when leadership, analytics, and accountability all pulled in the same direction. But here’s the part often missed: backlog is only part of the story. A case can take 6 months and never show up as “backlogged” because backlog is generally only reported once per year. For me, that’s why I told the Secretary of the VA that average processing time is the real measure of transparency. Requesters don’t care what your September 30th report says; they care when the records land in their hands. Over the next four days, I’ll dig deeper into how we can make backlog plans stronger by pairing them with strategies that actually shrink processing times: 1️⃣ Clear targets and timelines 2️⃣ Data validation and quality checks 3️⃣ Training, tools, and process optimization 4️⃣ Proactive disclosure as backlog prevention Which matters more to you, backlog counts or how long it actually takes to get the records?

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Reimagining Data Access in Pittsburgh: Recap of the 6th Community Data Justice Collaborative (CDJC) Workshop On June 26, 2025, we hosted our sixth Community Data Justice Collaborative (CDJC) workshop - part of the collaborative Data Justice for Pittsburgh’s Black Neighborhoods initiative between the Black Equity Coalition (BEC) and the City of Pittsburgh at the South Side Market House. The session was the first of a two-part summer workshop series with the Public Health Informatics Institute (PHII), a Georgia-based organization that is working with several of the MADE communities to improve processes through workflow mapping and other analytics. As a national leader in data systems and public health impact, PHII will be working with the CDJC to assist the Black Equity Coalition, the City of Pittsburgh (City) and the @Western Pennsylvania Regional Data Center (WPRDC) to integrate the community into the Open Data Request Process in a more meaningful, inclusive, and transparent manner. The Current State of Open Data Access in Pittsburgh Representatives from PHII and the WPRDC then led a detailed walkthrough of the current state of the City’s open data request process. This discussion brought several observations to light, including: - A general lack of awareness about the WPRDC and open data resources. - Barriers to data access, including privacy protections, security concerns, government regulations and existing data coverage. - There is a disconnect between raw data and user-friendly data products. Many community members need more support to use open datasets effectively. - A lack of transparency when requests are denied or unfulfilled, typically with no explanation or direction for alternative access. A particularly informative example emerged during the discussion: a request from a CDJC member to see if data is available to describe where public investments have been made in each of Pittsburgh’s 90 neighborhoods. This sparked a deeper conversation around equity, data transparency, and how community members can better understand how data can be used in different contexts, and where improvements could be made. CDJC participants emphasized the need for: - Clearer communication and expectation-setting throughout the request process. - Alternatives and further guidance when a data request is not fulfilled (for example, the City and the WPRDC can create connections with local community groups who are actively collecting the data or might already have the data). In addition, further guidance for data requesters can be very beneficial instead of the potential discouraging finality of “no” to a data request. - A vision for data justice through the data request process, asking not just what can be accessed, but what should be, and who gets to decide? Due to LinkedIn's word limit, we cannot post the full blog here. However, you can view it at: https://lnkd.in/gKyyFBZ6

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