In order to properly form your Data Ops team, you must first start with a series of questions you are looking to answer, then identify the various data sources which may be able to help answer those questions. Once these data sources are identified, you’ll need a person involved with each step in the data pipeline: from data entry all the way to decision maker (the person for whom the analysis intends to inform):

Team Members:

• Team Leader
• 1-4 Members with day-to-day experience entering or collecting the data (i.e. Case worker, benefit screener, application processor, etc.)
• 1-2 Members who directly manage the database or platform where the raw data resides
• 1-4 Members who generate reports, analysis, etc (Business Analyst, Data Scientist, person who’s winging it just trying to do the best they can)
• 1-4 members who will be using the results of the analysis to make decisions
• A geospatial technologist. Most government data contains some locational information, and spatial analysis should be a consideration.
• Anyone else who may be involved in the “Data Pipeline”
• A “data” person not directly involved