What if we could give command staff access to clear real-time feedback?
In early 2021 Blue Roof Labs partnered with AFWERX, Pathfinder, Strategic Results, and Barksdale Air Force Base to produce the first prototype of the DEW Line for Family Health and Wellbeing. Using the latest approaches in market sensing, analytics, and evidence-based program design, we provide a Distance Early Warning (DEW) process that gives command staff real-time feedback and continuously improves the Air Force and community programs strengthening the mental, physical, social, spiritual, and financial wellbeing of Airmen and their families.
There are some key issues with the current feedback system, here are the top three that we identified.
No Visibility - Data on real-time well-being metrics doesn’t yet exist.
No Easy Reference - Leaders need a single-point resource to gauge community health.
Lacking Evidence of Effectiveness - There are many resources available, but whether they are meeting community needs or not is yet to be determined.
We can overcome these barriers by following our listen - focus - act strategy.
Listen Intently - Collect passive and active data, while working to eliminate noise.
Focus Clearly - Use our solution to identify patterns, and bring results directly to leadership.
Act Quickly - Not waiting until results are no longer viable, real-time results with detailed data dashboards for leadership can solve challenges before they escalate.
No Visibility - Data on real-time well-being metrics doesn’t yet exist.
No Easy Reference - Leaders need a single-point resource to gauge community health.
Lacking Evidence of Effectiveness - There are many resources available, but whether they are meeting community needs or not is yet to be determined.
We can overcome these barriers by following our listen - focus - act strategy.
Listen Intently - Collect passive and active data, while working to eliminate noise.
Focus Clearly - Use our solution to identify patterns, and bring results directly to leadership.
Act Quickly - Not waiting until results are no longer viable, real-time results with detailed data dashboards for leadership can solve challenges before they escalate.
An important part of creating an all-inclusive data dashboard is intentionally selecting specific sources of data. To get the most out of data, we determined that pulling data from the following sources is necessary:
Direct surveys (active sensing) - Collect data directly from community members through surveys several times a year.
Predator activity (passive sensing) - Collect data about threats in the community as events happen.
Social media (passive sensing) - Collect key data from community social media accounts and trends frequently.
Direct surveys (active sensing) - Collect data directly from community members through surveys several times a year.
Predator activity (passive sensing) - Collect data about threats in the community as events happen.
Social media (passive sensing) - Collect key data from community social media accounts and trends frequently.
Listen
The first step in the DEW Line process is listening. In order to meet a community’s needs, leadership must actively listen to community members through multiple channels.
Biannual, direct surveys - Frequent surveys can be tiring and time consuming. Biannual surveys find a medium between gathering current information and not overwhelming community members.
Monthly, predator activity - Tracking threats in the community every month provides a bigger picture of the challenges the community faces, and how certain individuals respond to them. This data can be used to predict future predator activity, as well as evaluate the effectiveness of current response methods.
Real-time, social media - Social media is an integral part of news and communication among community members. If something important happens within a community, it is inevitable that it will make it to the digital space.
Focus
The next step to supporting a community’s needs through DEW Line is focusing on the information gathered during the listening phase. The listening phase pulls in large amounts of information that must be synthesized for easier understanding and analysis. In this phase, focus on three core areas:
Idea Capture - Capture ideas for community improvement developed by community members. These ideas can then be evaluated on feasibility and effectiveness to determine if they move to the next phase. All ideas have the potential to be successful or lead to another successful idea, so they should be considered in this phase.
Program Performance - Evaluate the effectiveness of different active programs within the community. Effectiveness could be determined by community critiques and data collected by the teams at each program throughout the evaluation period.
Sentiment Analysis - Understand the emotions within the community. A community’s emotional response to different programs and events can be as vital to community response as raw data.
Act
After collecting and analyzing data, it is time to act. Actions typically fall under two categories:
Program Creation - Using feedback and data from current programs and events in the community, programs can be created. Not all programs have to be in their final iteration to be launched within a community. Multiple versions of each program can be implemented simultaneously to rapidly test the effectiveness and the community’s response.
Resource Allocation - Based on the data and feedback gathered from the community, funds can be allocated as needed. This could mean providing more funding to a specific program, to a community resource, or to a department within the community.
The first step in the DEW Line process is listening. In order to meet a community’s needs, leadership must actively listen to community members through multiple channels.
Biannual, direct surveys - Frequent surveys can be tiring and time consuming. Biannual surveys find a medium between gathering current information and not overwhelming community members.
Monthly, predator activity - Tracking threats in the community every month provides a bigger picture of the challenges the community faces, and how certain individuals respond to them. This data can be used to predict future predator activity, as well as evaluate the effectiveness of current response methods.
Real-time, social media - Social media is an integral part of news and communication among community members. If something important happens within a community, it is inevitable that it will make it to the digital space.
Focus
The next step to supporting a community’s needs through DEW Line is focusing on the information gathered during the listening phase. The listening phase pulls in large amounts of information that must be synthesized for easier understanding and analysis. In this phase, focus on three core areas:
Idea Capture - Capture ideas for community improvement developed by community members. These ideas can then be evaluated on feasibility and effectiveness to determine if they move to the next phase. All ideas have the potential to be successful or lead to another successful idea, so they should be considered in this phase.
Program Performance - Evaluate the effectiveness of different active programs within the community. Effectiveness could be determined by community critiques and data collected by the teams at each program throughout the evaluation period.
Sentiment Analysis - Understand the emotions within the community. A community’s emotional response to different programs and events can be as vital to community response as raw data.
Act
After collecting and analyzing data, it is time to act. Actions typically fall under two categories:
Program Creation - Using feedback and data from current programs and events in the community, programs can be created. Not all programs have to be in their final iteration to be launched within a community. Multiple versions of each program can be implemented simultaneously to rapidly test the effectiveness and the community’s response.
Resource Allocation - Based on the data and feedback gathered from the community, funds can be allocated as needed. This could mean providing more funding to a specific program, to a community resource, or to a department within the community.
There are some key issues with the current feedback system, here are the top three that we identified.
No Visibility - Data on real-time well-being metrics doesn’t yet exist.
No Easy Reference - Leaders need a single-point resource to gauge community health.
Lacking Evidence of Effectiveness - There are many resources available, but whether they are meeting community needs or not is yet to be determined.
We can overcome these barriers by following our listen - focus - act strategy.
Listen Intently - Collect passive and active data, while working to eliminate noise.
Focus Clearly - Use our solution to identify patterns, and bring results directly to leadership.
Act Quickly - Not waiting until results are no longer viable, real-time results with detailed data dashboards for leadership can solve challenges before they escalate.
No Visibility - Data on real-time well-being metrics doesn’t yet exist.
No Easy Reference - Leaders need a single-point resource to gauge community health.
Lacking Evidence of Effectiveness - There are many resources available, but whether they are meeting community needs or not is yet to be determined.
We can overcome these barriers by following our listen - focus - act strategy.
Listen Intently - Collect passive and active data, while working to eliminate noise.
Focus Clearly - Use our solution to identify patterns, and bring results directly to leadership.
Act Quickly - Not waiting until results are no longer viable, real-time results with detailed data dashboards for leadership can solve challenges before they escalate.
An important part of creating an all-inclusive data dashboard is intentionally selecting specific sources of data. To get the most out of data, we determined that pulling data from the following sources is necessary:
Direct surveys (active sensing) - Collect data directly from community members through surveys several times a year.
Predator activity (passive sensing) - Collect data about threats in the community as events happen.
Social media (passive sensing) - Collect key data from community social media accounts and trends frequently.
Direct surveys (active sensing) - Collect data directly from community members through surveys several times a year.
Predator activity (passive sensing) - Collect data about threats in the community as events happen.
Social media (passive sensing) - Collect key data from community social media accounts and trends frequently.
Listen
The first step in the DEW Line process is listening. In order to meet a community’s needs, leadership must actively listen to community members through multiple channels.
Biannual, direct surveys - Frequent surveys can be tiring and time consuming. Biannual surveys find a medium between gathering current information and not overwhelming community members.
Monthly, predator activity - Tracking threats in the community every month provides a bigger picture of the challenges the community faces, and how certain individuals respond to them. This data can be used to predict future predator activity, as well as evaluate the effectiveness of current response methods.
Real-time, social media - Social media is an integral part of news and communication among community members. If something important happens within a community, it is inevitable that it will make it to the digital space.
Focus
The next step to supporting a community’s needs through DEW Line is focusing on the information gathered during the listening phase. The listening phase pulls in large amounts of information that must be synthesized for easier understanding and analysis. In this phase, focus on three core areas:
Idea Capture - Capture ideas for community improvement developed by community members. These ideas can then be evaluated on feasibility and effectiveness to determine if they move to the next phase. All ideas have the potential to be successful or lead to another successful idea, so they should be considered in this phase.
Program Performance - Evaluate the effectiveness of different active programs within the community. Effectiveness could be determined by community critiques and data collected by the teams at each program throughout the evaluation period.
Sentiment Analysis - Understand the emotions within the community. A community’s emotional response to different programs and events can be as vital to community response as raw data.
Act
After collecting and analyzing data, it is time to act. Actions typically fall under two categories:
Program Creation - Using feedback and data from current programs and events in the community, programs can be created. Not all programs have to be in their final iteration to be launched within a community. Multiple versions of each program can be implemented simultaneously to rapidly test the effectiveness and the community’s response.
Resource Allocation - Based on the data and feedback gathered from the community, funds can be allocated as needed. This could mean providing more funding to a specific program, to a community resource, or to a department within the community.
The first step in the DEW Line process is listening. In order to meet a community’s needs, leadership must actively listen to community members through multiple channels.
Biannual, direct surveys - Frequent surveys can be tiring and time consuming. Biannual surveys find a medium between gathering current information and not overwhelming community members.
Monthly, predator activity - Tracking threats in the community every month provides a bigger picture of the challenges the community faces, and how certain individuals respond to them. This data can be used to predict future predator activity, as well as evaluate the effectiveness of current response methods.
Real-time, social media - Social media is an integral part of news and communication among community members. If something important happens within a community, it is inevitable that it will make it to the digital space.
Focus
The next step to supporting a community’s needs through DEW Line is focusing on the information gathered during the listening phase. The listening phase pulls in large amounts of information that must be synthesized for easier understanding and analysis. In this phase, focus on three core areas:
Idea Capture - Capture ideas for community improvement developed by community members. These ideas can then be evaluated on feasibility and effectiveness to determine if they move to the next phase. All ideas have the potential to be successful or lead to another successful idea, so they should be considered in this phase.
Program Performance - Evaluate the effectiveness of different active programs within the community. Effectiveness could be determined by community critiques and data collected by the teams at each program throughout the evaluation period.
Sentiment Analysis - Understand the emotions within the community. A community’s emotional response to different programs and events can be as vital to community response as raw data.
Act
After collecting and analyzing data, it is time to act. Actions typically fall under two categories:
Program Creation - Using feedback and data from current programs and events in the community, programs can be created. Not all programs have to be in their final iteration to be launched within a community. Multiple versions of each program can be implemented simultaneously to rapidly test the effectiveness and the community’s response.
Resource Allocation - Based on the data and feedback gathered from the community, funds can be allocated as needed. This could mean providing more funding to a specific program, to a community resource, or to a department within the community.