The Tool That's Closing the Data Gap in Santa Cruz County

Accurate, reliable, and easily accessible data can often be difficult to find, especially data that is specific to Santa Cruz County. Instead of digging through old reports, searching through thousands of files and websites, or downloading a questionable PDF, the DataShare Steering Committee built a tool that provides data and data reports at the click of a button.

In 2019, the DataShare Steering committee consisting of over twenty members coming from a variety of organizations such as Santa Cruz County Office of Education, Applied Survey Research, Community Bridges, Pajaro Valley Community Health Trust, and several additional organizations, came together to create an online resource hub that “provides an accessible, comprehensive, and reliable resource for local, regional and national data available to everyone.”

DataShare Santa Cruz County (DataShare SCC) is an interactive data platform with local, state, and national data that allows anyone to find and explore information about the Santa Cruz County community and beyond.

DataShare SCC offers access to hundreds of data points to deepen and inform your knowledge of almost any aspect of life in our county. DataShare provides simple to use custom report generators and dashboard building tools. With DataShare, it is easy to find data by indicator, keywords, or locations. Users can quickly retrieve data about youth well-being, adults with health insurance, how many people in our county are vaccinated against COVID-19, presidential election voter turnout, and much more. The data is easy to understand and there are also comparison tools that allow you to see how the data compares to other counties, where that data sits in comparison to California as a whole, and the previous year’s data.

The platform is useful for any individual or organization looking to improve their advocacy efforts, apply for grants, inform program planning, or prepare for presentations. It is free for any organization or member of the public to use and can be a helpful tool for tracking county progress toward strategic goals.