Frequently Asked Questions

211 National Data Platform - FAQs!

Welcome to our Frequently Asked Questions page. Here, we aim to address common questions related to the 211 National Data Platform (NDP). Explore the sections below and click on the links to navigate through the associated questions. We will continue to update this page. If you cannot find the answer you’re looking for, please reach out to our support team via the Support Ticket process (coming soon!) for further assistance.

General

What is the 211 National Data Platform?

What data are we talking about?

How is the data protected?

How often is data updated?

How does the NDP handle data status changes?

Will 211s retain ownership of their data within the Platform?

Will United Way Worldwide be able to sell my data?

Are there costs associated with using the National Data Platform?

How can I learn more?

Using the Platform

How can I view my data?

What APIs are available?

Are there examples of projects and current use cases for the NDP?

How can I use the NDP to analyze my data or build reports?

Working with Partners

Can my 211 still design and implement local data management projects or execute data sharing agreements?

What can I share with an external partner who wants to learn more about working with our data?

What should I include in a data sharing agreement?

How do I grant permission for an external partner to have access to my data?

General

What is the 211 National Data Platform?

The 211 National Data Platform (NDP) is a single, trusted source of community social and human service data funded and managed by United Way Worldwide (UWW). The NDP aggregates data from local 211 resource management systems into a shared national database. Data is then made available to authorized users through application program interfaces (APIs), enabling development of new products/services such as websites, health care system integrations and mobile apps.

What data are we talking about?

The NDP currently aggregates and helps the 211 network leverage data related to community resources and services. Local 211s invest in maintaining and using resource databases to make high quality referrals. Currently, iCarol users can also upload the contact and needs data from their contact center.

How is the data protected?

All data is protected in transit and storage. Data transmitted over the Internet will be secured using SSL/TLS protocols and encrypted with 2048-bit private keys. Data at rest (i.e. stored in database or files) will be protected using 256-bit encryption (which meets the requirements of many industry standards) and access will be controlled using strong authentication policies and role-based security.

How often is data updated?

Platform participants determine the cadence of their updates, and updates from current participants range from daily to monthly frequency. We recommend at minimum weekly updates for most 211s but can support up to daily updates.

How does the NDP handle data status changes?

Currently, records with an inactive status are removed before it flows externally, but in the next version of the repository (v2), we plan to have the “status” of a record indicated, so data consumers can make the decision on what data to display.

Will 211s retain ownership of their data within the Platform?

Yes! 211s retain ownership of any data they originate or independently maintain.

Will United Way Worldwide be able to sell my data?

No. United Way Worldwide is responsible for managing the contracting, invoicing, and other administrative processes for national agreements, but individual 211s maintain ownership of their individual data sets.

Are there costs associated with using the National Data Platform?

There is no cost to share your data to the platform or for a 211 to use the NDP for internal use. However, if you are leveraging the NDP in a way that brings in revenue, United Way Worldwide charges a fee of 5% of the data valuation within the contract to support the on-going maintenance and development of the NDP.

How can I learn more?

Using the platform

How can I view my data?

The Developer Portal has built-in tools that support users with medium to expert-level skills to work with the platform’s APIs and view the raw data that is typically formatted in external applications such as a website. For those who do not have a deep technical background, we recommend the 211 Testing Site, which allows authorized 211 users to search and view their community resource records. It is important to note that the 211 Testing Site has been designed to show most, but not all, data included on a resource record.

What APIs are available?

How can I view my data?

The National Data Platform currently offers two application programming interfaces (APIs), the Search API and the Export API. These can be configured to a product, which would be based on a certain set of elements (like the contributor of the data, the geography, etc.) The Export API allows a developer to export data on organizations, this is meant for scenarios where someone desires to import a full dataset into an external system. The Search API allows a developer to offer keyword or guided search capabilities into websites and applications. Operations available on the API can additionally apply a variety of filters to refine the results that come back, and then return detailed service-at-location resource data.

Are there examples of projects and current use cases for the NDP?

Local teams use the NDP in variety of ways, including: Publishing online resource directories: The Search API can be used on local 211 websites to allow the public to search a 211’s database. Embedding search into a system or app: The Search API can also be integrated into external systems, such as a local mobile app where individuals search for resources. Search can be incorporated into tools (for an example, see the Social Health Connector tool by Virginia No Wrong Door, which leverages the NDP to receive data from 211 Virginia). Community dashboards: Resource directory data can be pulled into Excel, PowerBI, and Tableau to analyze data and build reports (see more in the next question). These visualizations and reports can be combined with other datasets or published as part of an organization’s community advocacy work.

How can I use the NDP to analyze my data or build reports?

The Explore Tool on the Developer Portal allows you to view business intelligence tools designed for 211s. These PowerBI dashboards show the composition of the resources in the national directory broken out by taxonomy and allow you to filter the visualization to explore your data. Access to these tools is restricted to 211s logging in with an organization administrator account. 211s can also connect, analyze, and report on their resources data via connection to the NDP. For additional details on how to connect to data using Tableau, Power BI, and Excel, visit the Analyze Your Data page on the NDP website.

Working With Partners

Can my 211 still design and implement local data management projects or execute data sharing agreements?

Yes! The 211 NDP was designed to complement existing data projects by providing an avenue for interoperability and means of sharing data. Many 211s engage in local data sharing partnerships with community-based organizations, government agencies, and healthcare partners.

What can I share with an external partner who wants to learn more about working with our data?

Anyone can access the public Developer Portal to view the basic documentation regarding each of the APIs that we make available. You can also invite a partner to sign up for a developer account and subscribe to the Trial product. The Trial product provides access to APIs and a limited amount of data, to allow developers to learn and use the data in a development environment.

What should I include in a data sharing agreement?

While we cannot provide legal advice, we have gathered some sample language and templates from local teams, which can be found in the Document Library of the 211 Toolkit.

How do I grant permission for an external partner to have access to my data?

Complete the API Request Form. This form provides UWW with the appropriate documentation and initiates the process of creating an API product and subscribing the recipient to the product.