1 of 27

Why Resource Directories are Unsustainable�And what we can do about it.

bloom@openreferral.org | 305.962.2859 | @greggish

@open_referral

2 of 27

The Problem

It’s hard to see the safety net.

3 of 27

4 of 27

WHICH agencies?

WHAT services?

WHERE are they located?

WHEN & HOW are they accessed?

Community Resource Directory Data:

5 of 27

IT’S COMPLEX…

Organizations: multiple services, facilities

Services: elaborate eligibility requirements

Language: differing vocabularies

Jurisdictions: federal, state, local

Public and private: government vs charity

& IT’S ALWAYS CHANGING

Community Resource Directory Data:

6 of 27

A FRAGMENTED FIELD:

Conventional Referral Providers

Web-based startups

7 of 27

A LANDSCAPE OF SILOS: CHAOTIC, WASTEFUL, INEFFECTIVE

8 of 27

Vision

A healthy information ecosystem

in which people can find what they need,

in whatever way works best for them.

9 of 27

A HEALTHY ECOSYSTEM IS INTEROPERABLE

10 of 27

1. Vocabulary and logic model

2. Machine-readable format

3. API Protocols

The Human Service Data Specifications:

http://docs.openreferral.org

11 of 27

XKCD on Universal Standards (#927). BUT WE CHANGE THIS THROUGH COOPERATION.

12 of 27

THE HUMAN SERVICES DATA SPECIFICATION: BRIDGING OLD AND NEW

13 of 27

Open Referral: Endorsed by AIRS as Industry Standard

In November 2018, the Alliance of Information and Referral Systems “moved to promote the adoption of Open Referral’s Human Service Data Specification and API protocols.”

HSDS/A are now the industry standards.

14 of 27

Open Source Applications:

Link by Zendesk

HelpSteps by Boston Children’s Hospital

Ohana by Code for America

15 of 27

The Big Question:

If resource data is public information,

and should be openly accessible,

how can we sustain its maintenance?

16 of 27

THREE HYPOTHESIS: CENTRALIZED, FEDERATED, MANDATED REGISTRY

#1: Centralized

Open Platform

#2: Data Collaborative (a network)

#3: Service Registry (funder-mandated)

17 of 27

Model #1: The Data Utility

A referral provider can sustainably publish open data as a public good

by generating revenue for premium services.

18 of 27

Example: the Data Utility

One single source of truth for a community.
One organization is responsible.
Monitor usage to produce valuable data analytics (in future iterations!)

Benefits:

Resource Data As a Service

Fees for Guaranteed Levels of Service

19 of 27

Resource data ‘open,’ w/ revenue from:

#1: Guarantees - “Service-Level Agreements”

#2: Premium Features - Value-Adds!

#3: Consulting - Training and Support

#4: Intelligence - Traffic data and analytics

The Open Platform ‘Data Utility’ Business Model:

20 of 27

Model #2: The Data Collaborative

A network of referral providers can cooperatively maintain and share data, decreasing costs and increasing quality.

21 of 27

DATA FEDERATION: MULTI-STAKEHOLDER COOPERATIVE NETWORK

22 of 27

Example: BENETECH SERVICE NET

23 of 27

Model #3: The Register

A funder can ensure reliable open resource data by requiring grantees and contractors

to update their own information in a registry.

24 of 27

Example: NYC Mayor’s Office of Opportunity, HHS Accelerator, and open data on every contractor

Canonical public resource directory record
Gov collects limited data (which is out of date)… �and they might pay for enrichment / updating.
Gov might pay for traffic / analytics data �that are interoperable with its own records.

Benefits:

Mayor’s Office of New York City is publishing data

on all municipally contracted service providers

in the standardized Open Referral format

on its open data portal.

25 of 27

Goals

Local pilots to move the world

26 of 27

Multi-stakeholder participatory research and deliberation

27 of 27

Thanks for listening. Let’s talk!

Sign up for email announcements: https://openreferral.org

Join our discussion forum: groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/openreferral

Discuss a pilot in your community: �bloom@openreferral.org | 305-962-2859

@greggish | @open_referral