Leading with Data

AMES, Iowa – Across Iowa, community leaders face growing expectations to justify programs and budgets with clear evidence. To help meet that need, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach is piloting Leading with Data, a new three-part online workshop series that teaches a clear, repeatable process for using data in everyday decisions.

 The workshops are designed for people who help guide local programs and projects but don’t work with data every day. That includes nonprofit staff, city and county officials, planners and civic volunteers who want practical ways to connect data to the decisions they make about programs, budgets and community priorities.

The series guides participants through “the full decision-making cycle,” according to Kayla Lyftogt, data literacy researcher with ISU Extension and Outreach’s Community and Economic Development unit. Participants learn how to identify the real problems they are trying to solve, build concise evidence-based cases for action, and communicate outcomes in ways that build understanding and trust within their communities.

“Most community leaders already make big decisions,” Lyftogt said. “They just need a practical way to bring data into those choices.”

Upcoming virtual workshops

• Finding and Framing Data to Initiate Your Project (Nov. 20, 10 a.m. - noon): Learn the critical first step of any project – how to narrow a community concern, clarify the data you need and craft an effective problem statement.
• Proof That Works – Using Data to Justify Solutions (Jan. 15, 10 a.m. - noon): Use data to prove the proposed solution is the most effective investment for addressing community concerns.
• Communicating Results That Build Lasting Trust (Feb. 19, 10 a.m. - noon): Share your impact through clear, transparent communication and data visualization that strengthen community confidence.

As a pilot offering, participants can register at a special rate of $50 per workshop. Each session can be taken individually, or participants can complete all three to earn the Leading with Data Certificate.

“Finishing the full series gives leaders a framework they can use again and again,” Lyftogt said. “It also shows their boards and supervisors that they’ve taken practical training to make decisions backed by evidence and communicate those choices clearly.”

For more information, contact Lyftogt at klyf@iastate.edu.

Photo credit: Jacob Lund – stock.adobe.com

Esther Crompton

Kayla Lyftogt