StrategicDATA PROJECT
Education Data-Use Organizational Assessment

Strategic Data Use
Rubric

A structured self-assessment, developed by Harvard's Strategic Data Project, that helps education organizations evaluate how well they collect, manage, analyze, and act on data

  • Create an org-wide assessment and share a code with your team
  • Colleagues rate 4 pillars across 38 indicators — the report stays locked while responses come in
  • SDP reviews and releases the report to your stakeholders ahead of a facilitated discussion
Pillar 01 · Strategic Data Leadership

What you'll measure

01

Strategic Data Leadership

Provides a framework for organizations to progress from emerging data practices to mastery of strategic data leadership through clear goal setting, transparent accountability, evidence-based decision-making, continuous improvement, and equitable leadership.

02

Quality Data Systems

High-quality data systems ensure that an organization can reliably assess, manage, and use high-quality data to support decision-making and strategic initiatives.

03

Actionable Analyses

Considers the quality and effectiveness of analyses through strategic inquiry, evidence-use practices, and inclusive and responsible analytics.

04

People-First Communication

Considers an organization's ability to foster understanding and trust through clear, relevant, and equitable data communication.

Beyond the Report

Turn Scores Into Action

Data only becomes useful when someone helps you make sense of it. An SDP facilitator partners with you to move from diagnosis to improvement.

Contextualize Results

Your facilitator brings cross-organization perspective — helping you understand where your scores sit relative to peer institutions and what patterns are most important for your specific context.

Surface Blind Spots

Disagreement across respondents is often more revealing than the average score. A facilitator identifies these tensions and turns them into productive conversation.

Prioritize Next Steps

Not every gap needs immediate attention. Together, you’ll identify the highest-leverage changes that fit your timeline, capacity, and strategic priorities.

Build a Shared Vision

The facilitated session creates alignment among stakeholders who may have different priorities — turning individual responses into collective commitment.