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The Data Capacity Building Initiative

The United Way of Metropolitan Dallas Century Project, the Data Capacity Building Initiative (DCBI), equips community-based organizations with the tools and knowledge needed to analyze local challenges and develop sustainable, collaborative solutions.

This partnership with PCCI (Parkland Center for Clinical Innovation) brings together community-based organizations (CBOs) in learning cohorts to leverage data from the Community Vulnerability Compass (CVC).

Applications for Cohort 2 open in February 2025.

Program Details

Each DCBI cohort consists of 12 to 18 organizations, each at different stages of capacity building, located within a specific geographic area in North Texas. Participants will attend a 6 month program designed to enhance their ability to use data and evaluation effectively.

This program will provide access to:

  • The Community Vulnerability Compass
  • A comprehensive curriculum
  • Technical assistance
  • A supportive community of community-based organizations to share experiences in data capacity building

DCBI Goals

  • Strengthen CBOs’ ability to use data to target high-need and priority interventions.
  • Incorporate CBOs’ local knowledge to guide CVC-informed programs and actions.
  • Build CBOs’ capacity to measure program performance, leading to refined services and improved operations.
  • Foster collaboration among CBOs to achieve shared community-level goals.

The Community Vulnerability Compass

The Community Vulnerability Compass (CVC), powered by PCCI, is an innovative tool that provides micro-level, hyper-local data to identify areas of greatest need and inform targeted interventions. The CVC enables users to visualize and understand the complexities of social barriers to health, access and well-being in North Texas communities.

Data is our compass. It’s our North Star. It’s guiding us from good intentions to measurable impact.

Jennifer Sampson
McDermott-Templeton President & CEO,
United Way of Metropolitan Dallas

Data Capacity Building Initiative Funders

  • Communities Foundation of Texas
  • The Addy Foundation
  • The Edward Rose Foundation
  • Hoblitzelle Foundation
  • The Eugene McDermott Foundation
  • The Meadows Foundation
  • Texas Instruments Foundation

Cohort 1 Participants

  • Beacon Hill Preparatory Institute
  • Black Heart Association
  • Boys & Girls Club of Greater Dallas
  • Communities In Schools of the Dallas Region
  • Empowering the Masses, Inc.
  • Families to Freedom Inc.
  • Lone Star Justice Alliance
  • Miles of Freedom
  • New Friends, New Life
  • T.R Hoover Community Development Corporation
  • The Concilio
  • Youth with Faces