The data manager role (M's role) is pretty important, and she's glad to have it.

Kristi: Do you feel like the financial support helped offset the cost?

M: yes. The work that the PM does with Washington County is important, and they have different partners. The outreach component is important to move it forward. They don't use AirTable for data management, and the funding for the DM position was vital so they could get the information back to NDIA.

Shannon: also in a rural community. As a DN, she also does data. The PM makes connections and program development. But she is self-guided, and sometimes that feels like a lot.

Rachel: also rural, and there is outreach through the state of Maine, but practically outreach needs to be local and through rural libraries that might have a FTE of 1 person. It's the only practical way to do it.

Tyler: I'm in the community every day, and the first face they see is me. It's good to be included in meetings because what I do is in line with what the PM and the DM do.

Kristi: sometimes you also need to account for mileage.

Kristi: Some programs have the DN or the PM doing the DM roles. For those of you who have combo roles, do you wish it was different?

Abby: it was 3 different people, and it's working really well. We meet once a week to go over everything.

Kristi: Do you feel like it would be better to have a 4th position? For finance or communication?

Abby: I don't think so, it works with our organization since we already have a PR person. They have a style guide. There is also an accounting department who oversees the financial requests.

Amy: Yes, quality over quantity, because an interaction is going to be time-consuming. But one hour of work with someone might save them countless hours of work on their end since they now know how to use technology to make their life more simple.

Abby: Feels the same about quality. They didn't know if they should meet a certain number, and it felt like that was not going to happen. The work is more about what you can gather from the people that you do help.

Amy: it also helps to know that whoever you are helping is probably sharing it with other people. There's a lot of trickle down that we might not see the results of in the data.

Don't be afraid if other organizations start reaching out to you so that they don't have to build what you just built.

Abe: It's not just locally for our program, they've also been cited in The Nation and the Marconi Society. It's going national.

Heather: while we would dprobably benefit from a community manager position, it was helpful to start with a DN who was from the community. It is important for that person to be a part of the community.

Emmanuel: The data manager position's importance depends on what kind of talent you have in staff.

Ashely: It also depends on how many DNs you have.

Kristi: Should we have developed more materials?

Ashley: there is someone on our team who develops them, but some templates on Canva or a place to put things and share would be helpful. If there were materials that we could copy from others, that would help.

Emmanuel: every program is different. He is comfortable with relational databases, but not as comfortable with graphic design.

Kristi: There is still time to get that information to you.

Mikhail: The DM didn't work out as well, which was more of a capacity issue. The DN ended up doing most of the data stuff, with support from the PM.

Kristi: If you had more community members coming for services and had another DN, would you have used the DM more?

Mikhail: Yes, but we needed someone who had the right skillset for that work. It would be good to hire someone who specifically does that. The DN helps the other things that are done at DCI that direct people to the DN. That's the best way to steer traffic in that direction.

Megan: Takes on all three roles, and communicates to the managers what they are doing or would like to do.

Spencer: AirTable can get complex, and it's great if you have someone who already exists in that role, but having a part-time person take on that work is not the same as having someone who is a wizard (like Aaron & Katie at NDIA). It's better to have true experts who can build what you need and put it into AirTable. It would be better to have an AT consultant, and put the money towards that.