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Why Walla Walla Trends?

Our Goal: To Democratize Data

The Walla Walla Trends project seeks to improve local, public decision making by providing relevant data in an easily navigable website. The data provided on this website is offered as neutral information. We leave it up to the citizens to apply the information according to their individual value judgment.

More specifically, the goals are:

  • To collect and share a broad spectrum of information to support informed decision making by individual community members, governmental policy makers, non-governmental organizations, businesses, researchers and the press.
  • To benchmark Walla Walla Trends against Washington State trends or other comparable communities.
  • To enable analysis of these trends.

Our Approach

In determining which data sets would be used, the following guidelines were followed:

  • Important to large numbers of the community
  • Valid measurements defined by good science and social science
  • Understandable to a lay audience
  • Can be benchmarked to Washington State trends or similar sized communities
  • Available repeatedly over time to allow trend analysis
  • Accessible
  • Sourced from credible sites

Walla Walla Trends is Not

  • A community indicators site with the objective of ranking the most pressing needs within the Walla Walla Valley. While some community indicator sites make such ranking, Walla Walla Trends does not. The objective of Walla Walla Trends is to collect and publish relevant data on the Walla Walla Valley. We leave it up to the citizens to access and apply the information according to their individual value judgment.
  • A community dashboard that gives a ranking to each data series as to its importance and whether the trend is positive or negative.
  • A pre-determined set of data to promote certain views about the Walla Walla Valley.

A Process, not a Product

The trends have been developed using state and federal databases. The site continues to evolve, as we add additional trends every year and occasionally delete some. To provide the most relevant data, we need the reactions of site users. Please take advantage of our feedback box to give us your thoughts and help to improve our offering.

Above all, we view Walla Walla Trends as a tool for all residents of Walla Walla County that will only improve over time.

The role of Eastern Washington University

Website development and maintenance comes from Eastern Washington University's (EWU) Institute (Institute) for Public Policy and Economic Analysis.. The Institute is a multi-college unit conducting applied analysis at EWU. Institute, staff and students, gathered the data, wrote the explanations, conducted statistical tests & designed this site. The Institute has created several similar indicator websites, including those for Grant County, Chelan and Douglas Counties, Benton and Franklin Counties, and Skagit County, among others. Links to other sites can be found on the Other Sites page in this site.

The Institute's Director is Dr. Patrick Jones. Kelley Cullen is the Institute's data analyst. Many students have helped develop and maintain both data and verbal content. Student research interns who were instrumental in creating this project were: Bryan Lockwald, Holly Miller and Emily Wavra. Meredith Hale was the student design intern for this project. Kandyce Moore is the Institute's web developer.

As you explore this site, we encourage your feedback to help continue to improve this community resource.