The limits of regional data sharing and regional problem solving: Observations from the East Valley, CA COMPASS initiative

This article examines regional data sharing for regional problem solving, drawing on the process evaluation findings of the East Valley, California COMPASS. The findings confirm prior research of regional data-sharing difficulties, such as technological and database expertise and participation. Our study points to more fundamental limitations of regional data-sharing development for regional problem solving. Problems in many communities are simply local phenomena that may not be aided by a regional approach. Consequently, the development of a data system for regional problem solving ignores the specific nature of problems and the practical barriers inherent to accessing diverse databases. We agree that regional data sharing is important, but may be better tailored toward sharing data for short-term tactical purposes (e.g., pattern analysis) or for simply identifying problems, the first step in the problem-solving process, regionally.