Grim Named Director of Community Impact at CT Data Collaborative

The Connecticut Data Collaborative has announced a new staff appointment: Elizabeth Grim, MSW, MPH, as Director of Community Impact.

The Connecticut Data Collaborative (CT Data) is a public-private partnership that advocates for the public availability of open and accessible data, serving nonprofits, advocates, policymakers, community groups, and funders in using data to drive policy and improve programs and services, budgeting and decision making at the state, regional and local levels.

Most recently, Grim was Senior Evaluation Consultant at The Consultation Center at Yale. Her work included consulting with non-profit organizations through the Building Evaluation Capacity Initiative (BECI), a two-year training and technical assistance model which aimed to enhance organizational effectiveness through program evaluation, quality improvement, and data-driven decision making.

Previously, she was an Independent Evaluation Consultant for the Idaho State Legislature, Policy Analyst for the Connecticut-based Partnership for Strong Communities, and Research Consultant for the Family Homelessness Prevention Work Group in Ann Arbor, MI.

Executive Director Michelle Riordan-Nold said that Grim “will be a tremendous asset in advancing our work to integrate data into decision-making in the public and private sector in Connecticut. She possesses extensive experience and brings new expertise, which will enable us to add new services and complement our outstanding team of professionals. Working collaboratively, we will advance efforts to help build an ecosystem of data users throughout the state and improve data literacy.”

CT Data strives for informed decision-making, empowering an ecosystem of data users by democratizing access to public data and building data literacy skills. More than 200 data sets are now accessible to the public on the CT Data website, including a wide array of subjects and policy categories. CT Data builds data literacy through public workshops held across the state on topics including data collection, reporting, storytelling, survey design, and a data bootcamp (hands-on experience with learning tools and techniques for data analysis and visualization).

With expertise in providing training, consultation, and technical assistance to community-based organizations and state agencies, Grim will work with colleagues and organizations across the state. Grim noted she is “excited to join the CT Data team and is looking forward to helping organizations across Connecticut harness the power of data, design, and evaluation to inform policy and decision-making.”

The Connecticut Data Collaborative, among its areas of responsibility, has been designated as the lead organization for the State of Connecticut in the U.S. Census Bureau’s State Data Center Program and as Connecticut’s official source for Census data related to the 2020 Census. Riordan-Nold is a member of the state’s Complete Count Committee, led by Lt. Governor Susan Bysiewicz.

Grim joins a staff focused on providing accessible public data, liberating and visualizing data for public consumption, convening data forums and conferences, and increasing data literacy through its CT Data Academy.

At Yale, Grim coordinated the BECI Program Evaluation Learning Collaborative, which provided ongoing support to graduates of the program. She has also consulted with multiple programs at the Connecticut Department of Public Health, including the Comprehensive Cancer, WISEWOMAN, and the Rape Prevention and Education programs, and served as the external evaluator for the Hamden Youth Network and the New Haven Local Prevention Council. As a Policy Analyst with the Partnership for Strong Communities' Reaching Home Campaign, the statewide campaign to prevent and end homelessness, Grim analyzed information about local, state, and federal housing policies, and supported the development of policy initiatives.

Elizabeth Grim earned a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Virginia and master’s degrees in Public Health and Social Work from the University of Michigan. She is an active member of the American Evaluation Association, serves on the Board of Directors for the Eastern Evaluation Research Society, and has presented on evaluation and data visualization at local, state, and national conferences.

In addition to its work with the U.S. Census and various state and municipal agencies, CT Data has established a partnership with Trinity College’s Liberal Arts Action Lab to work on projects of mutual interest, including health and housing data visualization and analysis of Hartford neighborhoods. CT Data offices are located on Constitution Plaza in downtown Hartford; more information and datasets are available on the website at ctdata.org.