Community-based workforce service providers often operate in data silos, unable to measure their true impact, identify outcome inequities, or demonstrate their efficacy to funders, community partners, or employers. The Workforce Benchmarking Network (WBN) was created help manage these challenges. Since 2004, more than 400 community-based organizations have used the WBN to identify outcome disparities, confidentially benchmark service offerings and outcomes data to peer organizations, and craft stronger narratives that are rooted in performance data.
WBN cohorts bring together workforce development organizations to strengthen their ability to use data, improve program outcomes, and advance equity. Through peer learning, individualized technical assistance, coaching, and data benchmarking, participants learn to assess their performance, compare outcomes with similar organizations, identify service gaps, and implement proven strategies for improvement. In the 2025 WBN NYC cohort, participating member organization All Star Code took a comprehensive look at their internal data practices and used tools from the WBN to improve their program metrics and outcomes.
Pryanka Bawa, of All Star Code, writes a thorough review of what participating in a WBN cohort was like, what their organization learned, where those learnings were applied, and how they’ve achieved success for their participants as a result.
The WBN did not hand us a finished workforce development model tied up with a bow. What it gave us was more useful: a structure for continuing to build. Today, All Star Code is investing more deliberately in workforce development infrastructure, including a dedicated Director of Workforce and Programs role. We are strengthening our data systems and employer pipelines while building workflows and automations to help us track Scholar engagement, alumni follow-up, employer relationships, and long-term workforce milestones.
Workforce organizations, including community colleges and community-based service providers, can join an existing cohort when opportunities are available, while funders, workforce boards, and other intermediaries can partner with CSW to establish and support new cohorts in their communities. All participating organizations complete the WBN National Survey to assess their performance and compare outcomes with local and national peers. Organizations interested in joining or sponsoring a cohort can contact CSW to learn more about participation opportunities.
In early 2027, CSW will launch a new WBN National Survey platform, made possible through generous funding from the Annie E. Casey Foundation. The new survey makes submitting and accessing comparison data easier, while offering new reports that can be used to support program design, evaluation, and continuous improvement. Additionally, the updated survey will be available for use to any organization interested in benchmarking their data against comparable organizations in their region. This will allow organizations who are unable to participate in a WBN cohort to still benefit from one of the foundational aspects of the WBN, our national survey.
As workforce providers continue to navigate seismic labor market shifts- the disappearance of entry level jobs, rapid shifts in the skills required to secure employment, equity concerns, and heightened demand for quality jobs. Practitioners need a reliable tool to determine: What outcomes are realistic? What practices matter most? How do our results compare?
To learn more about WBN cohorts and participating in the WBN National Survey, contact Alex Breen at abreen@skilledwork.org.
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