This was the question that Mississippi State University students were trying to answer Friday in Starkville. The “Data in Education and Workforce Training” panel focused on how the state uses wide range of data from different agencies to better understand the issues facing Mississippi’s workforce and other areas. “We are changing the way we spend your tax dollars – from how much are we spending to what we buy. Phillip Gunn (Republican House Speaker), spoke to more than 100 government workers and business leaders. Gunn explained how knowing the cost of incarceration or recidivism can help the state make better policy decisions. Let’s take, for instance, a burglary of your TV. Gunn stated that they broke into your home. “You have to replace the television you lost. Repair costs for the door they have just kicked in. The cost of the sheriff going out to arrest them, track them down, and taking them into custody. Cost of criminal justice system prosecutions and, if they are convicted, the cost for incarceration. You can save all of those costs if you stop him from doing that same crime again.” Dr. Laurie Smith is a governor’s education and workforce policy advisor. Phil Bryant said Mississippi has seen benefits from using data as a part of the decision-making process and not as an afterthought. She said, “We don’t just come up with an idea and then go to find the data to support it,” she explained. Policymakers should ask themselves, “What data tells us?” To track the effectiveness of workplace training programs as well as additional education levels, state officials use LifeTracks. Shawn Mackey, the deputy executive director of Mississippi Community College Board, said that “now we’re able to connect all the dots in our students’ lives.” “We want to look at that person to see what kind of student we’re getting and how we can prepare them. We now have the ability track students once they leave our program. Did they transfer to a four-year college? Are they working? What did they do in their field of study? The use of this data allows us to look at our successes, but also our failures, the panel of four state legislators explained. They are using data-centric approaches to help them make better decisions while they go through dozens of bills over the course of the 90-day legislative session. Rep. Mac Huddleston (R-Pontotoc) stated that they need “actionable intelligence”. Senator Terry Burton, R.Newton, stated that data is important but too much reliance upon evidence- and research-based methods could hinder some forms of innovation.