A Data-Driven Approach to Annual Reporting: Accuracy, Insight, and Coordination

As we closed out our most recent fiscal year (2024–2025), the completion of our annual report marked more than just a summary of activities and outcomes—it reflected CWICE’s continued commitment to transparency, data integrity, and strategic insight. This year’s reporting process also highlighted how a data-driven approach can elevate not only the accuracy of what we report, but also the clarity and coordination behind it.

Behind the scenes, coordination within the CWICE team played a critical role. Without structured collaboration, efforts become fragmented, leading to duplicated work or missed connections. This year, we strengthened team collaboration by implementing a more structured data completion and entry process and increasing communication touchpoints throughout the reporting timeline. These efforts not only streamlined the workflow but also helped ensure that each section of the report was aligned, both in content and tone.

Accuracy remained our top priority throughout the reporting cycle. As a Data and Research Coordinator, I also serve as a quality gatekeeper, ensuring that every figure reported is verifiable and current. The CWICE team worked diligently to validate datasets, reconcile discrepancies early, and ensure each figure was grounded in verifiable evidence. By applying consistent data standards and leveraging automation where possible, we reduced manual errors and improved turnaround time. The result is a report that stakeholders can trust—both in its numbers and its narrative.

“Our role is to ensure the data and research is meaningful. There are always stories behind the numbers. There are people behind the stories – our staff and our clients’ lives – and this is critical to centre. We recently submitted our annual report to the Ministry of Children, Community, and Social Services (MCCSS). We thank MCCSS for their continued support and funding; it enables CWICE staff to be positioned to observe insights and document trends. CWICE has been developing and improving its data intelligence and annual reporting since 2018. This strategy has positioned CWICE as leader in Canada, with many first-ever baseline data sets on the intersection of child welfare with immigration. This is part of the story behind the data”  - Danielle Ungara, CWICE Manager

Equally important was our focus on insight. Rather than simply listing outputs, we emphasized the outcomes and the stories behind the data—stories that reflect the experiences of children, families, and the practitioners who support them. Through clear visualizations, we surfaced key trends affecting service delivery and outcomes, and by aligning performance indicators with our strategic goals, we brought greater clarity to our impact in the child welfare system. This approach transformed the report into more than a compliance document—it became a meaningful tool for learning, reflection, and planning. By presenting data in a way that was accessible and purposeful, the report offered a clearer picture of what’s working, revealed areas for improvement, and supported more informed decision-making. Ultimately, it demonstrated how meaningful use of data can drive continuous improvement and foster collaboration across the child welfare sector in support of better outcomes for children and families.

About the Author:

Ghezal Wallid is a Data and Research Coordinator at Peel CAS in the Child Welfare Immigration Centre of Excellence (CWICE). She holds a Master of Development Policy from the Korea Development Institute (KDI). Ghezal has over 5 years of experience in the humanitarian and social services sectors. She has experience working with the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) and CORDAID to create a safe, positive, and caring environment for the community, with expertise in coordinating program and response plans and researching evidence-based practices and interventions to improve the quality of services to the vulnerable. In her current role, Ghezal focuses on leveraging data-driven solutions to enhance child welfare practices and outcomes at Peel CAS.