Dear friends and colleagues,
The Data Center is as good at getting data out as it is at putting it together. In 2016, we mastered emergent, multi-level communication practices by developing and circulating hundreds of social media posts, infographics, and videos – placing them directly into the hands of decisionmakers like you. Making data accessible through targeted methods of communication is central to democratizing data and is just as important as the data we produce in our reports.
In case you missed it, take a look at some of our key infographics and videos from 2016:
Commuters & Connections: Strengthening Ties Across the Southeast Louisiana Super Region
The Data Center analyzed, and made available, updated data on where people live compared to where they work to highlight how our three metro areas – New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and Houma – are increasingly interconnected and how this affects our economy. We created this infographic to highlight key points from the data, culminating in a crucial statistic that shows cross-metro commuting has grown 26 percent since 2004. For more detailed analysis, read our full report that explains the importance of our Super Region.
Sustainable Resilience: Providing Power through Philanthropy
The Coastal Index and its component indicators provide leaders with concrete data on the potential of this cluster as well as weaknesses that will need added support if water management is to become a permanent driver of prosperity for Southeast Louisiana. This infographic highlights the thin philanthropic support for environmental organizations. 
The New Orleans Youth Index: Video Series
As demonstrated by The New Orleans Youth Index, the issues that New Orleans children face are multi-dimensional. Our report tackles issues of health and well-being, housing and homelessness, learning, economic stability, and safety and justice. Youth filmmakers at the New Orleans Center for the Creative applied a personal lens to these numbers through voice, music, and visuals in our Youth Video Series. Some examples are:
Childhood Obesity, by Phillip Youmans
Obesity in childhood has immediate and long-term effects on health and well-being. Obese children are more likely to have risk factors for cardiovascular disease, prediabetes, bone and joint problems, and social and psychological problems, such as stigmatization and poor self esteem. 
Child Poverty, by William Nichols

Scientific research has shown that child poverty can lead to chronic, toxic stress that disrupts the architecture of the developing brain. Children in poverty are much more likely to experience exposure to violence, chronic neglect, and accumulated burdens of economic hardship. In short, scholars argue that poverty may be the single greatest threat to children’s healthy brain development.
Our ability to produce leading edge content and disseminate it via the most accessible technologies continues to be central to what the community values, and is at the heart of our mission. It is no surprise that, over the last two years, we have received over a million views on our website and our data has been downloaded over 270,000 times.
Looking forward to 2017, we are developing initiatives of critical importance to our region as we lead up to the city’s Tricentennial Year in 2018. The Data Center will delve deep into how Southeast Louisiana can capitalize on economic opportunity by focusing on the emerging water management cluster and confronting systemic issues of race and inequity. 
Whether looking back or ahead, we are ever conscious that it is you who bring our data to life. With heartfelt thanks for all the work you do throughout the year,
The Data Center Team
Caroline Heffernan, Dabne Whitemore, Keisha Smith, Allison Plyer, and Bernardo Espinosa

P.S. Do you regularly reference our major research reports, such as The Coastal Index, The New Orleans Youth Index, or The New Orleans Index at Ten Collection? Do you use our Who Lives in New Orleans and Metro Parishes Now? or the Neighborhood Statistical Area Data Profiles? We would love to hear how this data has helped your work! Let us know! Click on this link to take a brief survey on how data makes informed decisions possible!

Donors like you make data accessible to all. Support our research by making a donation today!
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