{"id":231542,"date":"2026-02-11T04:05:43","date_gmt":"2026-02-10T20:05:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/?p=231542"},"modified":"2026-02-11T04:10:02","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T20:10:02","slug":"turning-public-sector-data-into-impact","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/2026\/02\/11\/turning-public-sector-data-into-impact\/","title":{"rendered":"Finding the Magic in the Numbers: Turning Public Sector Data Into Impact"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"231542\" class=\"elementor elementor-231542\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4aec69e e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"4aec69e\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-c9a3529 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"c9a3529\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"entry-title\">Finding the Magic in the Numbers<\/h1><h2>By Lori Croy, APR<\/h2>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5826dd7 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"5826dd7\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you work in government communications long enough, you start to hear a familiar refrain:<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWe\u2019ve got the data.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And usually, that\u2019s true. We have the spreadsheets. The dashboards. The reports. The PDFs no one asked for but everyone feels obligated to publish.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What we often don\u2019t have is connection.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That\u2019s what I wanted to explore during <\/span><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><em><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/learn.publicinput.com\/public-sector-storytelling\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Public Sector Storytelling: From Data to Impact<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/em><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2014not because storytelling is trendy, but because numbers alone rarely move people. Stories do. And in public service, movement matters: toward understanding, toward trust, toward better decisions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whether you joined the session live or are catching up now, I hope these reflections resonate with your own work\u2014and maybe give you a few practical ideas to take back to your team.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Data Isn\u2019t Dry\u2014We Just Serve It That Way<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One of the biggest misconceptions about public sector data is that it\u2019s boring. I don\u2019t buy that.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Data represents people\u2014their behavior, their fears, their decisions, their risks. The problem isn\u2019t the data. It\u2019s how we present it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I like to think of data as ingredients. Flour, eggs, salt. Necessary\u2014but not exactly appetizing on their own. The story is the finished meal. Warm. Inviting. Digestible.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Our job as communicators isn\u2019t to change the ingredients. It\u2019s to prepare them in a way that people can actually consume and remember.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2><b>A Hard Truth: The Hero Is Never Us<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is the part that can sting a little.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When we\u2019re telling stories about our work, it\u2019s tempting to center the agency, the program, or the elected official. But here\u2019s the truth I\u2019ve learned\u2014sometimes the hard way:<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><b>The hero is never us.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The hero is the person on the other side of the screen:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The resident trying to understand their risk after a storm<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The policymaker weighing tradeoffs<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The business owner looking for stability and predictability<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If we aren\u2019t centering <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">them<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2014their questions, their concerns, their context\u2014then we\u2019re not really communicating. We\u2019re just talking to ourselves.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That also means accepting that one story doesn\u2019t work for everyone. Different audiences need different framing, even when the underlying data is the same. That\u2019s not dilution. That\u2019s respect.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Simplicity Is Not the Enemy of Accuracy<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One of the biggest fears I hear from teams is that simplifying data somehow makes it less truthful.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In my experience, the opposite is usually true.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Complexity is the enemy of action. When visuals are cluttered, when every data point fights for attention, people shut down. And when they shut down, trust erodes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is where one of my favorite tools comes in: the delete key.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Delete extra colors.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Delete decorative elements.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Delete anything that distracts from the core insight.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When we simplify, we\u2019re not hiding the truth\u2014we\u2019re amplifying it. And if the public can\u2019t trust what they\u2019re seeing, they won\u2019t trust the institution behind it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2><b>Stories Give Data Direction<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Data without structure is just information. Stories give it purpose.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A simple framework I return to again and again is a three-act structure:<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Context<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u2013 What has happened<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Conflict<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u2013 What could happen if trends continue<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Resolution<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u2013 What we can do next<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is where data stops being purely descriptive and starts becoming useful.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In Missouri, we\u2019ve seen this firsthand in our earthquake and flood research (yes, earthquakes are a thing in Missouri!). When we looked closely at the data, we found small but powerful insights\u2014like widespread misconceptions about insurance coverage and declining uptake as costs increased.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Those \u201cnuggets\u201d helped us move from reporting risk to helping people manage it. That\u2019s the difference between information and impact.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Learning From Agencies Doing This Well<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One of the most energizing parts of the session was celebrating the Excellence in Community Engagement Award winners. These teams are proof that thoughtful storytelling and inclusive engagement aren\u2019t theoretical\u2014they\u2019re happening right now, often under intense pressure.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">From disaster recovery in <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><em><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/2026\/01\/26\/hillsborough-county-community-engagement-for-disaster-recovery\/\">Hillsborough County<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/span>, to post-storm trust-building in <a href=\"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/2026\/01\/26\/buncombe-county-nc-building-community-trust-through-disaster-recovery-engagement\/\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Buncombe County<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/a> and <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/2025\/08\/25\/how-asheville-scaled-community-engagement-for-disaster-recovery\/\">Asheville<\/a><\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/span>, to data-driven transit engagement in <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/2026\/01\/26\/via-transforms-bus-route-outreach-in-san-antonio-using-mobile-data-driven-canvassing\/\">San Antonio<\/a><\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/span>, these efforts all shared something in common:<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><b>They put people first\u2014and built systems that reflected that choice.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Innovation didn\u2019t always come from having more resources. Often, it came from clarity, creativity, and a willingness to rethink old habits.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Why This Work Matters<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Turning massive datasets into stories people actually understand can feel overwhelming. I get it. We\u2019re all juggling timelines, approvals, and competing priorities.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But this is the work we\u2019re called to do.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When we bring empathy, imagination, and clarity to our data, we don\u2019t just inform\u2014we serve. We help people see themselves in the decisions being made. And that\u2019s where trust begins.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If this session sparked something for you, I hope you\u2019ll carry it forward into your own projects. The magic isn\u2019t in the numbers. It\u2019s in what we choose to do with them.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Missed the session?<\/strong>\u00a0 Catch up by requesting the recording below:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-703c332 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"703c332\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6a0cd64 elementor-widget elementor-widget-button\" data-id=\"6a0cd64\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"button.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-button elementor-button-link elementor-size-sm\" href=\"https:\/\/learn.publicinput.com\/public-sector-storytelling\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-content-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-text\">Watch the Recording<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2acc628 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"2acc628\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-00cc0e7 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"00cc0e7\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong data-start=\"745\" data-end=\"765\">About the Author<\/strong><br data-start=\"765\" data-end=\"768\" \/><em data-start=\"768\" data-end=\"1131\">Lori Croy, APR, is the Director of Communications for the Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance. With more than 23 years in government and higher education, she focuses on integrated, audience-first storytelling that builds public trust. Lori is Chair of the <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.prsa.org\/home\/get-involved\/professional-interest-sections\/public-affairs-and-government-section\">PRSA Public Affairs and Government<\/a><\/span><\/span> Executive Committee and a published children\u2019s book author.<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Finding the Magic in the Numbers By Lori Croy, APR If you work in government communications long enough, you start to hear a familiar refrain: \u00a0 \u00a0\u201cWe\u2019ve got the data.\u201d \u00a0 And usually, that\u2019s true. We have the spreadsheets. The dashboards. The reports. The PDFs no one asked for but everyone feels obligated to publish. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":231543,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wds_primary_category":1358,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1358],"tags":[1387,1902,1901,1903,1904,1882],"class_list":["post-231542","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-community-engagement","tag-data-to-impact","tag-data-visualization","tag-government-communications","tag-human-centered-design","tag-public-sector-storytelling"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Lori-Croy_Magic-Data_Feature.jpg","rttpg_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Lori-Croy_Magic-Data_Feature.jpg",1200,628,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Lori-Croy_Magic-Data_Feature.jpg",1200,628,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Lori-Croy_Magic-Data_Feature.jpg",1200,628,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Lori-Croy_Magic-Data_Feature-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Lori-Croy_Magic-Data_Feature-300x157.jpg",300,157,true],"large":["https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Lori-Croy_Magic-Data_Feature-1024x536.jpg",1024,536,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Lori-Croy_Magic-Data_Feature.jpg",1200,628,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Lori-Croy_Magic-Data_Feature.jpg",1200,628,false]},"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"Tricia Thomas","author_link":"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/author\/triciathomas\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"<a href=\"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/category\/blog\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Blog<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"Finding the Magic in the Numbers By Lori Croy, APR If you work in government communications long enough, you start to hear a familiar refrain: \u00a0 \u00a0\u201cWe\u2019ve got the data.\u201d \u00a0 And usually, that\u2019s true. We have the spreadsheets. The dashboards. The reports. The PDFs no one asked for but everyone feels obligated to publish.&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/231542","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=231542"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/231542\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":231572,"href":"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/231542\/revisions\/231572"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/231543"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=231542"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=231542"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/publicinput.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=231542"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}