Data Help Desks for NNIP Partners

One of the core services offered by NNIP partners is ad hoc assistance on locating and using neighborhood data, a service often called a data “help desk.” Partners help users to troubleshoot problems or use data and tools from partner websites. This guide reports on a survey of our partners from May 2013. Throughout the guide, we will incorporate partners’ responses on current practice along with NNIP’s best practices. Forty out of 44 organizations responded to the survey (35 out of 37 partner cities at the time of the survey). Responses are reported based on partners’ organizational responses.

Through the survey, we learned that all but three responding NNIP organizations take ad hoc questions in some form, and the remaining would like to have a help desk in the future to expand their influence. Most NNIP partners advertise help desk services on their web site and provide support to their customers through various channels such as toll-free numbers, websites, and email. We have summarized their practices and advice in this online guide to help current partners and other organizations launch or improve their help desks.