CIRCLE: CTA Case Study

The Challenge:

The Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE), part of Tufts University's Tisch College of Civic Life, is a non-partisan, independent research organization focused on youth civic engagement in the United States. One of CIRCLE’s larger research projects is a major longitudinal national project on electoral engagement and youth civic participation, which analyzes the effectiveness of non-governmental organizations’ engagement efforts every cycle.

Putting together this project and the other analysis that CIRCLE works on every day requires a place to store large amounts of data, significant analytical capacity to work with data across languages, and connections to the voter file and other supplementary information. Until their partnership with CTA, CIRCLE lacked a dedicated data warehouse or analytics platform, and their access to supplementary data was restricted, making it challenging and labor-intensive to produce analyses and advance their research. CTA partnered with CIRCLE to set up a data warehousing and analytics solution in PAD for their engagement project, providing a place to store data and perform analytics in SQL and R, as well as connections to supplementary data. Access to these tools helped CIRCLE have its most efficient project cycle yet and has enabled them to spend more time on their analysis, instead of on figuring out how to move data around or where to store it. 

The Approach:

CTA worked with CIRCLE on a multi-step process to ensure CTA PAD was set up for their needs, from access to historic data to facilitating syncing data in and out and hands-on implementation support. 

Data Migration:

CIRCLE had a number of large historic files important for project analysis in various formats. CTA worked with CIRCLE’s team to assess migration needs, create a plan, and load files into PAD in a timely fashion so the CIRCLE team could hit the ground running. As part of the migration process, CTA staff also trained CIRCLE on best practices and processes for file uploads and database design so the team could take on those tasks in the future for all their organizational data 

Syncing Data In and Out:

Part of CIRCLE’s project process includes a significant data collection effort for large files. CTA worked with CIRCLE to design a simple, easy-to-use data collection process with Google Forms that could accommodate large files and would provide a streamlined way for CIRCLE to ingest the data into PAD. Once the data was in PAD, CIRCLE also needed a two-way connection with their voterfile vendor to access supplementary data and exchange data for matching. Previously, CIRCLE had limited access to voterfile data and little visibility into matching progress. CTA provided CIRCLE a direct voterfile sync so they could query the file directly, and advised on a Google Cloud Storage setup that allowed data to flow efficiently between the vendor and CIRCLE. CTA also created a dashboard and Google Sheet tracking system for CIRCLE so that they could monitor data as it was sent out and returned. 

The Impact:

With CTA PAD, the CIRCLE team was able to get started quickly, optimize their processes and have direct access to critical data, enabling CIRCLE to have its most efficient project cycle yet.

Hitting the Ground Running with Migration SupportCTA’s team handled the migration process into PAD for CIRCLE, ensuring all important historic files were uploaded and available and advising on PAD setup and database design. With those needs out of the way, the CIRCLE team could hit the ground running and focus on moving forward with their work. 

Building a Solid Foundation With Access to Data Infrastructure

With access to a data warehousing tool and all of PAD’s analytics infrastructure, the CIRCLE team could standardize and streamline all of their processes, ensuring their historic data is easily accessible and their analytics work is trackable, shareable, and integrated. This allowed CIRCLE to overhaul its existing engagement project approach and build a solid foundation for years to come.

Streamlined Data Movement For Increased Impact and Visibility

Before CIRCLE partnered with CTA, they did not have direct access to the voterfile and a key part of their analysis process - sharing files with their voterfile vendor for matching - was an intensive process with low visibility. With CTA PAD, CIRCLE was able to share files with its vendor with a click of a button. Additionally, with the tracker CTA built for them, they were also able to see the movement of those files in near real-time. 

To read more about CIRCLE’s analyses and impact, read their 20-year anniversary report here.