A New Approach to Social Service Data — Part III

This is the third and final part in a series of posts about One Degree’s new approach to serving information about social service nonprofit organizations. (Here is the single-post version.)

Part 3: The data collection challenge

In Part 1, I detailed the way families look for social services today, and in Part 2 I introduced One Degree’s opportunity-based model, which we think brings more useful and measurable information to the table. Although we think this is a better approach, there are a number of challenges to making it work.

Serving data that goes a step further than traditional directories means having information in a specific format whose collection is not easily automated. A computer script, scouring organizations’ websites for their most basic information is not sufficient. Furthermore, we do not yet have the artificial intelligence capable of perusing organizations’ websites, talking to staff on the phone, and then automatically writing content in the format of opportunities described here.

Indeed, our data model requires a much more human-driven collection strategy. For now, we are relying on volunteers to help us sift through local San Francisco nonprofit websites and write out opportunities. This is a time-consuming, painstaking process that requires editorial judgment and a decent understanding of social sector code words so they can be translated into a user-friendly style.

(While many organizations do incredible work, the information they provide is clearly not directed at their clients. For instance, these direct quotes from the websites of two effective and well-respected agencies in San Francisco paint a confusing picture: “a comprehensive, integrated framework of evidence-based services” and “reducing harm is possible through the provision of accessible, non-judgmental drop-in and outreach sessions.”)

We recognize that our current efforts to aggregate this opportunity information is not scalable with volunteers, and the information itself will quickly become outdated and inaccurate. In the long-term we will likely need to build some semi-automated processes, which would require human editors, and also a staff that can work within communities we serve to collect and update information, structured as opportunities, on an ongoing basis.

Moreover, we need to demonstrate that our model is an effective one, and eventually enlist the help of agencies to use opportunities as the basis for sharing their information, either by proactively adding their information to One Degree by hand, or by allowing One Degree and others to consume their opportunity information through a computer-friendly medium. This will require advocating for policy changes in government and nonprofit agencies to supply data in this improved format. To facilitate the compilation of this data from third parties, we are maintaining the opportunity information we collect in an open database, accessible via an API, that any individual or organization can use or add to.

Just getting started

At One Degree, we’re taking a new approach to connecting people with help to improve their lives. There are so many great resources out there for people who want it, and they should be easier to find. By giving people information about the opportunities at organizations, rather than simply the organizations themselves, they will be one degree away(!) from finding what they need.

Our vision is a world where everyone can find the help they need quickly and easily to lift themselves out of poverty. This is a lofty goal, but we believe that, in our modest way, we can help move our society toward that end. We have a lot of work to do, but at the outset of this experiment, I wanted to share with you this new approach to helping families improve their lives, and why we’re really excited about it!

If you have any feedback, questions, or ideas, please email me at eric@1deg.org.

Our CEO, Rey Faustino, signing up a new user for One Degree (smart phone is on the clipboard).