What does DSA do?
The primary focus of the Office of Data & Strategic Analytics (DSA) is to ensure that Vanderbilt’s decision-makers can access data they trust to do their jobs better. We want to make data the oil that keeps the Vanderbilt engine humming, and to keep it from being the friction that slows it down. I believe that without more effective use of data, Vanderbilt cannot achieve the speed, efficiency and scale of core operations the Chancellor is certain are needed to be THE model research university of the 21st century.
There was a time when data was treated almost as a byproduct of IT systems instead instead of something with inherent institutional value. Entire implementations could be completed before anyone even thought about reporting needs. However, as companies like Facebook and Amazon built fortunes on extracted insights from the data they had been collecting, universities began to take notice.
In the seven years I’ve been at Vanderbilt, I’ve seen a real hunger from Vanderbilt’s leadership to use data both strategically and operationally to improve outcomes and efficiency. With an office like DSA, that hunger can be given focus, ensuring all university initiatives with a data component consider the potential use cases for that data from the word “go.”
Unfortunately, while “there’s gold in them thar data hills,” extracting that value is often not a straight line process and requires difficult and intentional work. There are a few reasons for this.
First, data is not an image of reality itself but rather the footprints left by things that happen. Like footprints, what that data looks like depends on many contextual factors, including who created it and when, the rules constraining it (think drop-down lists), the way it is divided up (last name, first name), and the structure of the system that holds it.
Second, data is often partial or biased in some way. It is rare that we have exactly the piece of data that answers exactly the question a leader is asking. It needs to be refined, interpreted and put in context, or you could find it possible to make the same dataset say two opposing things. As Mark Twain once said, attributing the quote to British prime minister Benjamin Disraeli, “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.”
Third, there is so much data that you can never look at all of it. Even analyzing a single survey could take you down a thousand pointless rabbit holes. You have to figure out what matters to the situation you are in and focus there. Much like mining precious metals and minerals, understanding what you plan to achieve upfront is critical in knowing what to keep and what to lay to one side. And fourth, data is often sensitive. Data governance and ethics are needed to ensure that we are managing and using data appropriately. Who should get access, and at what level, is important. For instance, we do not allow students to do projects with data about other students because that would be a violation of both regulations and the trust our students place in us to use their personal information appropriately.
Therefore, the DSA team is, first and foremost, a team of DATA TRANSLATORS. We bring to the table an understanding of the full data lifecycle, from the first moment it gets put into the system to the moment it appears in a Powerpoint for the Board of Trust. We use that understanding to untangle the data produced out of Vanderbilt systems and bring it to bear on solving real-world problems. How can we ensure every Vanderbilt NYC student gets matched with an appropriate internship? Has the investment made in early-stage research generated bodies of work that can attract competitive external funding? How can we capitalize on the success of Vanderbilt’s sports teams to build our fan base?
We also try to share our understanding with others by stimulating the development of a broader data culture through training, communities of practice, and individual engagements with colleagues all over the university.
DSA has several teams that work closely together and with other units.
- Our Institutional Reseach and Academic Partnering team under Dr. Richard Iannelli supports the Office of the Provost. The Institutional Research team submits Vanderbilt data to federal and state governments, as well as overseeing rankings submissions and surveys, and includes skilled statisticians. The Academic Partnering team consists of three Senior Partnering Consultants who work closely with leaders in Undergraduate Education, Graduate Education, and Faculty Affairs and Professional Education, creating reports and dashboards and advising on data issues. Dr. Consuela Knox is a Senior Director in the Provost’s Office who works closely with this team.
- The Administrative Partnering team under Jeff Loudon provides similar partnering support to leaders in administrative units such as DAR, PCB, and Facilities, to name a few.
- The Data Governance, Solutions, and Consulting team under Daniel Kirby includes the Data Solutions team that works closely with VUIT to provide the curated data that underpins the work of the other teams. Data Governance focuses on how we make and document intentional decisions about our data, like who has access and what it means (data definitions), as well as focusing on data quality. Data Consulting focuses on training and innovative ways to leverage technologies like AI and data sciences. This team are the engine room for much of what we do, developing innovative and robust data solutions that are foundational to our work.
To achieve our goals, DSA works in partnership with other technology and process professionals to ensure data is accessible to end users, and with cybersecurity and compliance professionals to ensure the integrity and safety of data as a sensitive and valuable Vanderbilt asset.
The Radical Collaboration work we do with Vanderbilt’s business units helps them to provide value to Vanderbilt and achieve the institution’s core mission. We are at our best when others involve us in complex questions. We can help bring existing data together, find relevant external data, draw on lessons from other parts of Vanderbilt or external organizations, and help clarify how data can be brought together with other information to address complex challenges.
Just like translators, DSA achieves our goal if we can make other people more effective. Please reach out to me, to dsa@vanderbilt.edu, or to any of our team members so we can explore whether we can help you!