SDP Nebraska Strategic Data Leadership Network
SDP Nebraska Strategic Data Leadership Network
In collaboration with the Nebraska Statewide Workforce & Education Reporting System (NSWERS), SDP is launching the SDP Nebraska Strategic Data Leadership Network, a new by-invitation-only fellowship program designed to strengthen data capacity across Nebraska’s postsecondary public education institutions and agencies.
This nearly two‑year initiative will bring together up to 32 fellows representing public postsecondary institutions and state agencies from across Nebraska. With a focus on expanding high‑quality data analysis and evidence‑informed decision-making, the new program aims to build a cohesive community of postsecondary data leaders equipped to advance educational outcomes statewide.
Over the course of the program from spring 2026 until early 2028, fellows will participate in a rigorous sequence of in‑person workshops, alongside ongoing virtual professional development, technical support, and cross‑institutional collaboration. Under SDP’s guidance, each fellow will receive an expert advisor to support a strategic data project aligned with organizational priorities and NSWERS’ outcome indicators. These projects will address urgent analytic needs, strengthen data governance and infrastructure, and inform state‑level understanding of opportunities to better serve students.
Faculty Advising and Technical Support
Fellows will match with a faculty advisor at Orientation and have regular check-ins over the course of the program; they will also receive access to resources to help improve their institutions strategic use of data.
Community of Practice
Institutional leadership will attend the first and last in-person workshops to learn best practices from across Nebraska's postsecondary landscape and shape the strategic direction and impact of their fellows' projects, creating lasting connections among Nebraska’s postsecondary data leaders.
Applied Projects
Fellows will identify pressing challenges aligned with Nebraska's outcome indicators at their institutions or agencies and design data-driven projects to address them, while expanding the effective use of Nebraska’s state longitudinal data to answer critical questions about student success and workforce alignment.
Workshops
In-person sessions (at Harvard or in Nebraska) to expose fellows and leadership to cutting-edge training, mentorship, and exposure to national best practices through SDP, with themes such as Foundations of Data Strategy, Analytic Planning, Data Work is People Work, and Sustainability Planning.
The launch of the SDP Nebraska Strategic Data Leadership Network represents an exciting step toward building sustainable analytic capacity across Nebraska’s postsecondary education landscape. By partnering with SDP, we can access a national network of training and support to transform data into action and move our state’s educational and workforce priorities forward.
Now, by working closely with institutions and agencies across a single state, we can help build lasting systems for strategic data use—creating a model for how coordinated, statewide data efforts can accelerate meaningful progress for students. This fellowship is possible because Nebraska already has remarkable data talent, and we’re honored to work with leaders across the state who bring deep expertise, commitment, and vision to this work
If your institution received an invitation to apply, you can get started on your application.