The Information Network of Kansas (INK) is pleased to announce the award of two grants to the Kansas Department of Commerce and Wichita State University, Public Policy & Management Center.
The INK Board of Directors have approved an award of $374,189.04 for the Department of Commerce to Migrate economic development program data into a centralized Salesforce portal, establishing a new foundation for the public Transparency Database. They also plan to create tools to pull real-time data for the Transparency Database public map showcasing agency investments and an internal mobile app detailing program spending with more detailed information, filtering and data analysis capability.
“Ever since the launch of Commerce’s Incentive Transparency Database in 2019, our agency has been working nonstop to better explain to the public and stakeholders what we do to grow the Kansas economy, how we do it, and why it matters. This award will allow Commerce to reinforce its commitment to open and transparent government, helping Kansans more easily understand and analyze data from our comprehensive database of incentives and grants provided to businesses and organizations across the state,” Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of Commerce David Toland said. “We are grateful for the support INK has invested in our efforts.”
The INK Board also awarded WSU Public Policy & Management Center $75,000 to assist with exploring the development of a Statewide integrated data hub for social insights addressing the issue of homelessness. According to Misty Bruckner, Director of the Public Policy and Management Center their project will bring together multiple state agencies to share data to a centralized linking hub to create datasets for addressing complex social questions. The online digital lab will be a resource for researchers and policymakers.
The Information Network of Kansas has provided over $10 million in grants over the years to governmental agencies. Past projects funded through the INK grant program include:
- Assessment Connect (Kansas Department of Revenue)
- Statewide Broadband Mapping (Kansas Department of Commerce)
- Updating the Amber Alert System (Kansas Bureau of Investigation)
- Online Streaming of Legislative Committee Hearings (Kansas Legislature)
- Property Tax Estimator Tool (Kansas State University)
The grant program is part of INK’s mission to enable digital access to state and local government information and services for public use and benefit. The grants are made possible from the proceeds generated from the services developed by INK.
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