Orlando DataDive: Zero-to-Five

DataDive Repo 10/2023

Introduction

The Central Florida Foundation (CFF) serves as a launchpad for high-impact philanthropy and tackles today’s toughest challenges. They do this through coordinating the investments and commitments of multiple philanthropists, nonprofits, and community partners. CFF recognizes that in order to drive positive community change in zero-to-five brain development support, they need more detailed information on where investments should be made to ensure access to quality resources and services for all who want it. We’re proposing to use hyperlocal data to conduct geospatial modeling, derive insights, and predict demand that will ultimately lead to clear information to drive investment, leading to closing the access gap in Central Florida.

Problem Statement

Zero-to-five brain development - the collective term for early childhood education and care in the crucial first five years of life that leads to ensuring children have the best possible opportunity to thrive in K12 education and beyond - is an area of support that is critically underfunded in the United States - and in Florida, where the state ranks 31st in child wellbeing. The Central Florida Foundation supports organizations across the region working to expand access to - and quality of - zero-to-five brain development resources under the Thrive Central Florida initiative on education. The Central Florida Foundation and collaborators are hoping to gain a greater understanding of quality childcare and early childhood education access and the opportunities for philanthropic and private investment to fill the known gaps in government funding, with a specific focus on identifying projects that pilot, accelerate or scale solutions or fill gaps. The K-Ready Community Project, an alliance that is a collaborator of the Central Florida Foundation, has led research across Orange County that have highlighted the industry and business challenges preventing access to quality early care and education for all children and families who need it. Central Florida Foundation and K-Ready have built an understanding of challenges and opportunities at the county and zip code geographic levels, and identified that analysis at other geographic levels, particularly the Census tract level, would be helpful for creating a comprehensive view of childcare and early childhood education access. Furthermore, these community leaders have identified that incorporating additional economic, demographic, and infrastructure information into the geographic analysis will help inform data-driven decisions regarding local program development and investment. With the known shortage of childcare and early childhood education offerings, making access to quality opportunities is of key importance, and data can help identify barriers to be removed. For an overview on the challenges preventing access to quality early care and education (ECE) for ALL children and families that need it and research conducted to date on actionable interventions, please review this workshop report from the K-Ready Community alliance.

Getting Started

1. Detailed information about tasks and general resources: Project Brief
2. Datasets