Making Better Work

In this episode, our host Kristin Wolff talks with Dr. Kate Akers, who, after having guided the development of KY’s education and workforce data efforts for six years, and leading the evolution of the state’s P20W Data Collaborative project into what is now the KY Center for Statistics, will be heading to Harrisburg, PA to become the new Assistant Vice Chancellor for Education and Business Intelligence with the PA State System of Higher Education. When KY, a partner in the US Department of Labor’s Workforce Data Quality Initiative (WDQI), launched its longitudinal data effort, it wanted to improve research and policy. Building on what had been a strong data culture, KY’s education and workforce stakeholders wanted to move beyond just counting. Less than a decade later, a suite of report cards, dashboards, and a slate of ongoing research products and questions were in play, and Kate and her team were travelling across the state helping people understand what data was available and how to use it to make better