The Niagara Workforce Planning Board (NWPB) is pleased to announce the new Niagara Community Data Consortium (NCDC) program, now available to Niagara organizations. The program offers access to the Canadian Council on Social Development’s Community Data Program (CDP). In 2014, NWPB received a two-year, $98,000 grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation to purchase initial access to the Community Data Program (CDP) for the Niagara community. The CDP is made up of a national network of more than twenty community data consortia, with a community data consortium in most big Canadian cities. Members include more than fifty municipalities and over a thousand users, including local police, social planning councils, health and family service agencies, school boards, United Ways, and other organizations working at ground level for social development.

The Hon. Jim Bradley, MPP for St. Catharines, states that “this investment by the Ontario Trillium Foundation will be of immense benefit for community organizations in Niagara to gain the kind of valuable information that will enable them to carry out their responsibilities effectively.”

Interested organizations can contact Hugo Chesshire, NCDC Project Manager, at info@ncdc.ca with a request to sign up, or use the “Contact Us” form on the NCDC site. Access can be set up in less than 24 hours for urgent requests.

In Niagara, the NCDC provides an accessible portal to the CDP data for local organizations, as well as training in the use of the data. This tool is now available to Niagara non-profits, charities, researchers, government organizations and other groups working for the social good, for the annual fee of $125 per organization (including access for as many individuals as required).

The Niagara Workforce Planning Board is pleased that Niagara Connects is supporting the development of the NCDC by making information about opportunities to leverage this valuable new tool available on the Niagara Knowledge Exchange. Access to this rich data and the promotion of the use of data in policy, social services, and initiatives aimed at the well-being and prosperity of Niagara aligns with the Data and Knowledge Niagara Framework being built by over 30 Niagara organizations with facilitation by Niagara Connects. NPWB is also grateful to the “early adopters” who have been using Community Data in advance of the official launch:

Community Data allows access to a data set that would cost Niagara over a million dollars if obtained from the original sources. The program allows access to rich data for all organizations in Niagara region that are working for the betterment of the community, and to promote the use of data in policy, social services, and all initiatives aimed at the well-being and prosperity of Niagara.

Hugo Chesshire
Niagara Workforce Planning Board
hchesshire@niagaraworkforceboard.ca