Visualizing Equity in Grant Distribution for Remake Learning

Background

Remake Learning (RL) champions equitable, engaging education by empowering educators and communities with strategic funding, particularly focusing on historically marginalized student populations. Since 2008, RL has distributed grants to projects promoting anti-racism, inclusion, and innovative pedagogical practices. To amplify the transparency, equity, and effectiveness of these grants, RL collaborated with SUDS to consolidate, standardize, and visualize grant distribution data.

Project Details

The SUDS team worked alongside Remake Learning to centralize, integrate, and analyze over a decade’s worth of diverse grant data, driving strategic insights and promoting educational equity. Key tasks included:

• Comprehensive Data Integration: Compiling and consolidating disparate historical grant data sources, including spreadsheets, PDFs, and Google Drive files, into a unified, master database covering all grants awarded since 2008.
• Standardization and Classification: Standardizing key data fields such as organization names, geographic information (zip codes), funding dates, grant types, and identifying levels of advantage to ensure consistency across datasets.
• Equity Pillar Classification: Categorizing grants according to RL’s equity pillars—such as anti-racism, digital inclusion, and community engagement—to clearly illustrate how funding addresses specific educational inequities.
• Interactive Data Visualization: Developing an accessible, interactive dashboard enabling stakeholders to explore and analyze geographic funding distribution, demographic impact, and long-term trends across equity dimensions.

Deliverables

• Master Grant Database: A standardized, comprehensive database compiling grant records from various formats (PDFs, spreadsheets, Google Drive) spanning from 2008 to the present.
• Equity-focused Dashboards: Dynamic and user-friendly Power BI visualizations illustrating annual funding patterns, geographic distribution, and equity impact across different demographic groups.
• Data Standardization Protocols: Clear documentation and guidelines for maintaining consistent and high-quality data collection practices for future grant distributions.
• Strategic Insights Report: A detailed analytical report highlighting key findings, trends, and recommendations for enhancing equity and effectiveness of RL’s grantmaking.

Outcomes

The integrated data platform and visualization tools significantly improved Remake Learning’s ability to make informed, equity-focused funding decisions. By clearly illustrating how grants address critical areas of educational inequality, the dashboards supported targeted strategic planning and stakeholder engagement. This effort not only streamlined RL’s internal processes but also reinforced their advocacy efforts, amplifying their impact in fostering equitable learning opportunities throughout the community.