Data from different sources like case management and Medicaid are often siloed, making it difficult to interact with and translate into knowledge. Data integration combines these sources into meaningful information, while visualization tools display it in a way that allows policymakers to make sense of the data and make data-driven decisions. Interactive visualization tied to un-siloed data lets decision makers transform data into knowledge, opening new paths forward for pressing policy issues.

1. Interactive visualization tied to
un-siloed data lets decision
makers transform data into
knowledge – opening new
paths forward for today’s most
pressing policy issues.
Non-Cognitive Predictors of Student Success:
A Predictive Validity Comparison Between Domestic and International Students
Understanding Your System
through Data Integration and
Visualization: How to Make the
Most of Your Data
Megan Villwock, MPH, MSW
John Agosta, PhD
Introduction
In today’s age, data is ubiquitous– support
assessment information, Medicaid
expenditure data, and data from case
management systems, for example, each
provide important information about
individuals in intellectual and developmental
disability (IDD) service systems. However,
these data often reside in information siloes
that make meaningful interaction and
knowledge translation between them
difficult.
Data integration is the combination of
technical and business processes used to
combine data from different sources into
meaningful and valuable information.
Additionally, visualization tools can organize
and display this information in meaningful
ways that allow policymakers to make sense
of the data and make data-driven decisions.
Raw data stored in information
siloes simply isn’t valuable
unless you are able to quickly
and easily comprehend its
significance.
Non-Cognitive Predictors of Student Success:
A Predictive Validity Comparison Between Domestic and International Students
The bulk of data today is never fully
analyzed. Interactivity allows you to:
- Ask questions
- Explore connections and patterns
- Identify causes and trends more quickly
- See relationships between daily tasks
and outcomes
- Tell a story through data
- Make better, smarter decisions faster
A single fixed view of data is
informative, but not explorable.
Interactive data visualization
empowers decision makers by
putting them in the driver’s seat.
In IDD systems, we are often
unable to systematically identify
the most effective approaches,
the most needed resources, or
even see problems clearly
enough to chart a course
forward. By effectively
harnessing these technologies,
policymakers can begin to close
data gaps that have long
impeded effective systems
change.