MEDIA RELATIONS

CONTACT

Taylor Nagle

Program Coordinator at I2D2
Iowa State University

I2D2 BACKGROUND

In 2015, Heather Rouse and Cassandra Dorius came together to leverage their combined three decades of experience in education, human services, public health, and integrated data systems to establish I2D2 as the state of Iowa’s first integrated data system for decision-making.

I2D2 brings together administrative data from across health, education, and social service programs; generates anonymized files for analysis to explore patterns and identify strengths and needs; and uses analytic findings in cross-agency discussions about Iowa’s pressing problems. Reports from the U.S. Commission of Evidence-Based Policymaking have increased attention on the potential of integrated data systems to address gaps in service coordination, population-level surveillance, and service responses. With actionable intelligence derived from I2D2, state and program leaders can make powerful, targeted decisions to improve the lives of all Iowans – with a special emphasis on children and families.

Biographies

Heather Rouse, Director

Rouse brings two decades of experience studying and developing integrated data systems for policy research to her leadership of I2D2. Rouse serves multiple federal grant review panels and advisory groups and is Iowa’s representative on the National ECIDS Leadership Workgroup on Stakeholder Engagement and to the Health Research Services Administration Community of Practice Data Sharing and Use in Home Visiting Programs and Policy sponsored by Child Trends.

From 2015-2021, Rouse also served as assistant professor of human development and family studies at Iowa State University. She was previously the director of health policy research at the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement and an assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Arkansas.

Cassandra Dorius, Co-Founder & Senior Advisor

An expert on family complexity, Dorius is uniquely positioned to lead I2D2. As associate professor of human development and family studies at Iowa State University, she has established the university’s Data Science for the Public Good program and co-directs the Public Science Collaborative. She also co-organizes the National Science Foundation’s Midwest Data Hub Summer School program in the “Data Science for the Public Good” research track.

Dorius’ substantive research sheds important light on how family complexity is associated with the educational, health, and wealth outcomes of children and their families. She serves organizations including Iowa’s Two-Generation Poverty Reduction Steering Committee, Iowa Head Start, and the National Governor’s Association.