Franklin County Datasource

Franklin County DataSource provides public access to a considerable collection of social and demographic data for Central Ohio.

Client: Community Research Partners

Challenge: Community Research Partners (CRP) collects a wealth of social, demographic and property data for central Ohio. Their challenge was to make the data as well as the metadata and definitions available to the public. They wanted to provide this data in its raw form to all potential users, allowing them to draw their own conclusions, rather than providing reports that would tell users how to interpret their findings.

Solution: Avencia used a geograpic aggregated data application we built to organize CRP’s data library into an easily navigated web-based system. Franklin County DataSource enables users to rapidly generate tables, summary statistics, charts and analyze trends for fifteen data categories with over 250 indicators at nine different geographic levels including elementary attendance zones, Franklin County Children Services Districts, census tracts, and zip codes. The system also leverages ESRI’s ArcIMS and ArcSDE technologies to enable customized and interactive maps, and geographic reports to be generated for all indicators. The indicators are grouped into fifteen categories ranging from child care, child maltreatment, child welfare to student achievement, attendance and population, and water service. The data are drawn from a variety of sources including the US Census Bureau, Franklin County Children Services, Columbus Public Schools, Franklin County Department of Job and Family Services, City of Columbus Departments of public Utilities Division of Water and Franklin County Auditor’s Office.

Outcomes: Within a year of public rollout, over 1,400 users had registered with the site, using the information for grant writing, community demographics and needs assessment, and academic uses. Prior to the development of DataSource, anyone seeking this diversity of data would have had to contact each contributing agency directly. With DataSource, a wide array of information is now available in a single location.

Quote: “I see lots of possibilities. Thus far, [I have] pulled a number of Neighborhood Reports, utilizing the Neighborhood Data Collection Areas maps and plugging in the summary data I want. It’s been a wonderful resource.” – response to a DataSource user survey

Community Research Partners' Data Access Tools Website:
http://communityresearchpartners.org/datatools/