#  The SDP Minority Serving Institution (MSI) Data Community of Practice and Fellowship 

 



##  The SDP Minority Serving Institution (MSI) Data Community of Practice 

 [ Read the press release. arrow\_circle\_right ](https://prod-sdp.drupalsites.harvard.edu/news/2024/12/strategic-data-project-sdp-launches-data-community-practice-and-fellowship-program) 

 

       ![Graduation Cap](/sites/g/files/omnuum4446/files/styles/hwp_21_9__1920x825/public/2025-12/Screenshot%202025-12-04%20at%208.30.23%E2%80%AFPM.png?h=6179b69c&itok=38ndd_E0) 

 

 



 

 



 

The SDP Minority Serving Institution (MSI) Data Community of Practice is a grant-funded two-year program that develops IFS MSI data leaders in their analytic, research, and decision-making skills, while crafting a community of practice to share the unique successes, advancements, and challenges of their institutional context.

These fellows will focus on four focus areas: data governance and systems; pathways analytics for student success; data communication and literacy; and student voice.

Partnering institutions will include Minority Serving Institution (MSI), Predominantly Black Institution (PBI), Historically Black College or University (HBCU), and/or Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) institutions that are current partners of [Gates Intermediaries for Scale](https://usprogram.gatesfoundation.org/news-and-insights/usp-resource-center/resources/transformation-intermediaries) organizations.  
  
Eligible institutions intend to or currently use the [Postsecondary Data Partnership](https://www.studentclearinghouse.org/solutions/ed-insights/pdp/) (PDP) to understand student success metrics. Institutions that join this cohort will build their own internal capacity to answer critical questions using data and inform a key assessment of the MSI data landscape.



 

### In-person Workshops

Fellows will develop best practices, use diagnostic tools and resources, and incorporate student voice into their data practice and decisionmaking.



 

 

### Virtual Group Meetings

Guided by expert advisors, fellows will meet monthly to refine deliverables and work through obstacles together.



 

 

### Student Success-Focused Data Projects

Fellows will complete a key strategic data project, commissioned by their institution, leveraging the skills and best practices gained in this cohort.



 

 

### Informing the Field

Institutions selected into the Data Community of Practice will receive support in understanding their data landscape in advance of their first workshop.



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

Each component in isolation was valuable, but the cumulative effect was a very efficient and helpful curriculum for people with and without research backgrounds. The ability to discuss problems, potential solutions, and research design with peers who all shared the background at a 2-year school was incredibly helpful and went way beyond the value of attending a research conference.

 

SDP-CTE Cohort 3 Fellow

 

 



 

 

 

   

The sessions themselves were also useful and provided valuable insight and feedback into how to frame our problem to be more dynamic, flexible, and impactful. The SDP team is amazing, and I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know you all and value your support and insight along this journey.

 

SDP-CTE Cohort 3 Fellow

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

##  Learn More: 

 



  [### SDP Accepts 18 Institutions into New Data Community for Minority-Serving Institutions 

 ](/news/2025/07/sdp-accepts-18-institutions-new-data-community-minority-serving-institutions) July 08, 2025 

 June 2025 — Cambridge, MA – The Strategic Data Project (SDP), an initiative of the Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University, has accepted eighteen fellows across eighteen Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs) to participate in the... 

 

 

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   [### The Strategic Data Project (SDP) Launches Data Community of Practice and Fellowship Program for Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs)

 ](/news/2024/12/strategic-data-project-sdp-launches-data-community-practice-and-fellowship-program) December 18, 2024 

 SDP will launch a new data community of practice and fellowship program for MSIs to advance data use to improve student outcomes across four topic areas. December 11th, 2024- The Strategic Data Project (SDP), an initiative of the Center for Education... 

 

 

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