Washington State ERDC
Washington state’s goal is to improve the quality of the statewide education system, basing policies and programs on a clear understanding of the variables that cause some students to prosper while others struggle once they finish school.
"Our belief is that better data makes for better information. The research or data we produce leads to something meaningful and something that improves the lives of our citizens."
— Jim Schmidt, Manager of Education Research and Data Center, Office of Financial Management, Washington State
Business Need
Washington State was awarded a $17 million grant to enhance the statewide P-20 integrated education system, extending from preschool through higher education.
Legislators, researchers, educators and program owners analyze key risk factors (such as income, foster placement and school enrollment history) and their impact on academic achievement, and varying educational--and life--outcomes.
Challenges
ERDC integrates large amounts of data from multiple external agencies (e.g. the Department of Social and Health Services and Department of Corrections).
It took four months for the ERDC team to manually integrate, cleanse and consolidate academic, student and external agency data before analysis could begin.
Inaccurate and inconsistent data dented causality analysis (e.g. non-standard dates and Social Security numbers, missing data, gaps in collection of some fields of data over time).
Solutions & Results
The Informatica platform created a data foundation for analyzing the variables that drive education and work outcomes.
100+ key policy questions have been identified to be addressed with a data-driven approach, affecting the development of policies and programs.
ERDC has produced 10 research studies and four legislative reports during the past twelve months.
Products & Services
Informatica MDM
The true end-to-end MDM solution tackles complex issues head-on with complete and accurate views of complex business-critical master data and relationships.
Informatica Data Quality
Transforms the way your business works by instilling trust in data at all times.
Informatica PowerCenter
Accesses, integrates, and delivers any and all data quickly and cost-effectively, without hand coding.
Informatica Professional Services
Provides a full range of professional services based on Informatica’s proven implementation methodology.