NHSDC Fall 2019 Conference - Call for Session Proposals




NHSDC




NHSDC Fall 2019 Call for Conference Session proposals
 
Theme: Solving Problems and Impacting Communities With Data
  The National Human Services Data Consortium (NHSDC) is requesting session proposals for the 2019 Fall Conference in Austin, Texas, on October 15-17, 2019. We are looking for speakers who are excited to share their human services data experiences and expertise with attendees from across the country. Following this year’s theme, Solving Problems and Impacting Communities With Data, NHSDC is looking for session proposals that continue to move the bar forward on addressing the challenges our communities face.  We want presenters to show how a strong data culture is the key to informing local and federal policies, helping to tackle persistent community challenges and laying the foundation for collaboration across different sectors.  We want to learn how your creative solutions are impacting lives today and enhancing human services programming for the future. NHSDC welcomes session proposals that demonstrate proficiency in technical application, leadership, collaboration, implementation, innovations and best practices.  

For reference, session descriptions and presentations from earlier NHSDC Conferences are available here:
https://nhsdc.org/conferences/.
Topic ideas for conference sessions include:

Community Problem Solving: Community leaders, service providers and administrators alike must always think outside the box for creative solutions to their specific issues and community challenges.  Challenges involving data, system performance, privacy and security, funding allocations, population growth, housing availability, system integration and a whole host of other issues are common in every community.   What tools and processes are you using to address and resolve some of the more difficult problems in your community?

Topic Examples:
  • Coordinated Entry (CE) processes and HMIS
  • Solving racial disparities
  • Integrations across different systems - Behavioral Health, Hospitals, Clinics, Managed Care, Schools, Criminal Justice, etc
  • Thinking outside the box to develop new solutions
  • Youth initiatives
  • Innovative programming for hard to serve populations
Collaboration:  Collaboration is essential to building strong foundations that affect the community. Getting input and feedback from all the stakeholders helps bring about effective implementation strategies in human services.  Projects increase the impact of their information exponentially when they effectively collaborate with other data-oriented projects. Sessions in this area should explore real strategies for the dissemination of data across multiple sectors and the coordination of these efforts.   
Topic Examples:
  • Integrating data systems for improved client outcomes (VA, HMIS, HHS, etc)
  • Development of project plans for data sharing initiatives
  • Mechanics of communication and negotiation with multiple vendors
  • Addressing the scope and fear of data sharing: technical, legal, and community agreements
  • Why leadership is important in the ever-changing climate of human services.
  • Building a sustainable and adaptable system on a shoestring human services budget
Technical Applications: Show us how technology is being used to collect and tell the stories of your data. Sessions in this area should demonstrate specific uses of technology that have increased the skill sets or capacity to serve within a community. Your audience should walk away with applicable skills to enhance the utilization of human service data systems.
 
Topic Examples:
  • Advanced uses of technology (BI, GIS, Mobile Devices, Social Media)
  • Technology and applications for data visualizations
  • How to survive LSA
  • Best practices in data collection
  • Creating system performance dashboards
  • Data Warehousing / Interoperability / Comparable Databases


Note: NHSDC Conference attendees represent communities of all sizes and systems of varying levels of sophistication. Sessions that address issues common to any city, as well as the concerns of very small or vast communities, should contain practical information that attendees can apply to their environments.