News
CSDA shares child welfare predictive risk modelling work in Chile
June 6, 2018
Professor Rhema Vaithianathan, co-director of the Center for Social Data Analytics, recently gave a keynote address on child welfare predictive risk models at the Adolfo Ibáñez University (UAI) in Santiago, Chile.
International project explores social impact of algorithms
May 17, 2018
A project led by CSDA’s Co-Director Rhema Vaithianathan, is exploring community perspectives on the use of algorithms by government in New Zealand and the United States.
Surprising findings about interventions helping sick workers
April 17, 2018
A forthcoming paper in Labour Economics finds that, overall, providing sick workers with more intensive interventions worsened their labour market outcomes.
Social Workers in Schools evaluations: A use case for IDI but we can do more
April 5, 2018
A study co-authored by CSDA researchers has identified positive effects for some student groups from the government-funded Social Workers in Schools (SWiS) programme. The paper is the first of two studies recently published by the Ministry of Social Development.
CSDA eNews - April 2018
April 5, 2018
CSDA’s research and analytics tools are used by local and international agencies to support smart policy and sound decision-making in areas including health and social welfare. This issue: CSDA risk modelling in The New York Times, funding award to study community perspectives on government use of algorithms, CSDA papers in Children And Youth Services Review, Pediatrics and American Journal of Public Health and meet CSDA Senior Research Fellow Matt Walsh.
Full house for Wellington workshop on child poverty, risk and resilience
March 3, 2018
There was a great turnout at CSDA’s recent Wellington workshop, attended by individuals from thirteen government agencies and several private sector organisations.
Analysis of screening tool wins best paper award at international fairness conference
February 15, 2018
A paper that analyses the application of risk modelling to child maltreatment screening decisions will receive a best paper award at the 2018 Conference on Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency (FAT*) in New York in late February.
"Can an Algorithm Tell When Kids are in Danger?" - our research in the NYT
January 12, 2018
An in depth feature about a CSDA research project, the Allegheny Family Screening Tool (AFST), ran in the New York Times Magazine in January.
CSDA eNews - December 2017
December 22, 2017
CSDA’s research and analytics tools are used by local and international agencies to support smart policy and sound decision-making in areas including health and social welfare. This issue: CSDA co-director named as MSD’s Chief Economist, Marsden funding for ethics framework, greater accuracy from revised family screening tool and our CSDA team profile: research fellow Bénédicte Rouland.
Meet the Team: CSDA Research Fellow Bénédicte Rouland
December 12, 2017
CSDA research fellow Bénédicte Rouland is focused on extracting meaningful answers about child welfare from the swathes of information held in New Zealand’s Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI).
Registrations open for 3rd Annual CSDA Workshop
December 12, 2017
The programme is set and registrations are open for the third annual CSDA Workshop: “Applied Economics Papers on Child and Youth Outcomes”. The workshop is taking place on February 15 and 16, 2018 at Auckland University of Technology (City Campus).
The keynote speaker is Heather Royer from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Participants will hear thirteen research presentations from researchers at New Zealand and Australian universities. The research selected for presentation touches on a diverse range of topics relevant to child and youth outcomes, including the following: child disadvantage, adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), child mortality, parental language barriers, tertiary education and financial aid.
Read the event programme for details on how to register, and more information about presentations.
Promising results from pilot survey on junior doctor wellbeing
December 12, 2017
The researchers behind a workplace wellbeing survey tool are looking forward to full rollout of the tool in 2018 after a successful pilot survey of junior doctors in Wessex, South England in November.
CSDA takes Danish experts behind the scenes of US projects
November 28, 2017
Danish child welfare experts and researchers with an interest in the use of predictive risk modelling travelled to the US in November to join a study tour led by CSDA Co-Director Rhema Vaithianathan.
Tim Maloney named MSD Chief Economist
November 3, 2017
CSDA co-director Professor Tim Maloney has become the first Chief Economist at the Ministry of Social Development, a position he will hold until November 2019.
3rd Workshop of the Centre for Social Data Analytics
October 27, 2017
In February 2018, the Centre for Social Data Analytics will host our third workshop. The focus for this year's workshop is child and youth outcomes. We are very pleased to host Heather Royer (University of California, Santa Barbara) as the keynote speaker.
We invite you to submit applied economics papers in this area, which could include - but not be limited to - topics such as early childhood, schooling, health, family issues, and public policies.
For more information about the workshop and submissions, please see here.
CSDA co-director addresses US National Academies’ expert meeting
October 4, 2017
CSDA co-director Rhema Vaithianathan travelled to Washington DC recently to address a US expert meeting about the future of predictive analytics for human services.
Promising interest in British junior doctor wellbeing study
September 19, 2017
Junior doctors in Winchester, South England made the most of a recent meeting with researchers studying their wellbeing, including Rhema Vaithianathan, co-director of CSDA.
Meet the Team: CSDA’s US Project Manager Emily Kulick
August 31, 2017
For CSDA’s US project manager Emily Kulick the most exciting aspect of her job is seeing the practical application of predictive risk models in a way that makes a difference in people’s lives.
Getting the Best out of Big Data: A Conversation
August 1, 2017
CSDA Co-Director Rhema Vaithianathan will talk about the risks and opportunities of big data as part of a panel conversation at AUT City Campus on Thursday 3 August.
Rhema at Refactor: Building Movements not Monuments
July 28, 2017
CSDA Co-Director Rhema Vaithianathan spoke recently at Refactor, a regular event that aims to improve the New Zealand tech industry by “inspiring women to not only stay in it but get to the top”.
Child Protection and the Promise of Predictive Analytics
July 7, 2017
In a recently published research paper, CSDA co-director Rhema Vaithianathan and co-authors argue the case of predictive risk modelling as an alternative to existing methods of screening and triaging children and their families in cases of alleged maltreatment and neglect.
CSDA Co-director appointed to Integrated Data Advisory Group
June 15, 2017
Statistics New Zealand has appointed CSDA co-director Tim Maloney to the government’s existing Integrated Data Advisory Group (IDAG), which will advise the department on how to best promote the use of integrated (linked) data.
CSDA eNews - May 2017
May 23, 2017
CSDA is growing fast and we’re excited to see our work beginning to make a real difference and our research helping to inform policy and planning. In this issue of CSDA eNews - our latest research insights, CSDA data scientist Diana Benavides Prado explains her prediction risk modelling work, and a snapshot of our new projects in the UK, US and NZ.
Meet the Team: CSDA data scientist Diana Benavides Prado
May 18, 2017
Data scientist Diana Benavides Prado joined CSDA last year and her current focus is on improving the accuracy of the Allegheny Family Screening Tool, which has been implemented by Allegheny County’s Department of Human Services in the US to help child protection staff in making referral decisions.
Developing the Allegheny Family Screening Tool
April 27, 2017
A report on the methodology of the Allegheny Family Screening Tool is now available on Allegheny County’s website. This report details the considerations and decisions made during the development and implementation of the tool, providing a snapshot of the project at its current status.
Researchers find Teen Parent Units have positive impact
April 12, 2017
New Zealand teenage mothers with access to Teen Parent Units (TPUs) had better educational outcomes than those with no access, according to empirical research co-authored by AUT economists.
Rhema Vaithianathan: Data - the heavy lifting can be done blind
April 7, 2017
Rightly, the idea of our personal data being collected or passed on, without our permission, has a tendency to spark alarm in New Zealand. But the good news is that, when it comes to data analytics, we can achieve an astonishing amount without the need for personalised data.
CSDA workshop features empirical economic papers on children and youth
March 20, 2017
In February 2017, the Centre for Social Data Analytics hosted our second workshop. We enjoyed presentations from local and international researchers on the topic of children and youth.
Presentations from the workshop are available here.
Research explains racial differences in maltreatment reporting
February 20, 2017
The age and marital status of parents explains racial disparities in Child Protective Service (CPS) involvement, according to a study co-authored by Tim Maloney and Rhema Vaithianathan.