Data driving how we deliver services remains critical at Bissell Centre — the way we collect, display, and interpret information received a huge boost thanks to a group of students.
Over summer 2026, Bissell Centre hosted 13 summer interns from ATB Financial on a project to help refine how we gather feedback from program participants. The team innovated our data collection processes — integrating the ability to compare data across programs to gain clearer pictures on how improvements can be made to services.
ATB’s Early Talent Specialist Kimberley Dart explains its summer student program, called ATB 101, aims to, “unleash high performance by equipping our summer interns with the foundational tools needed to jump-start their careers.” Around 2020, the program’s focus shifted to community-based projects, partnering with different organizations to help them refine and improve aspects of their operations.
“We first partnered with Bissell Centre in 2024, and it was an outstanding experience,” says Dart. “When seeking meaningful project opportunities in Edmonton this year, returning to collaborate with Bissell Centre was a natural and exciting choice.”
The student project
This year’s ATB 101 project was especially impactful because student groups from both Edmonton and Calgary collaborated on the project. The students ventured to better standardize the data programs collect from participants sharing their experiences with Bissell Centre, automate much of the data collection process, and create a dynamic and cohesive dashboard to easily gleam insights and have participant feedback directly informing how we can improve service delivery.
Emily Desousa, one of the student leads on the project explains she had limited knowledge about Bissell Centre initially. Her excitement about the project grew as she delved deeper into the programs and services.
“Bissell Centre does incredible work, and we really wanted to make sure we helped them help as many people as possible,” says Desousa. “Our hope is that the surveys will help expand Bissell Centre’s outreach and bring more awareness to the programs offered to the community.”
The team of students investigated all aspects of our data collection, from program participant surveys to the information dashboards staff use to make program decisions, standardizing the information collection process and displaying consistent data for cross program comparisons.
“This provides Bissell Centre with useful insight into how the community is interacting with programs — allowing for meaningful changes to serving the community,” says Desousa. “By refining the data collection process, Bissell Centre has the ability to connect with their participants on a deeper level.”
Pride in helping the community
The team of students expressed their pride for how they were able to deliver a set of tools that will help to collect meaningful information from participants and visualize it to easily see areas for improvement and incite change.
“The teams at Bissell Centre can use the dashboard at a glance to get a general understanding of participant feedback, or they can use it to look deeper at the reasons for some of the results,” says Desousa.“I think the most rewarding part of working on this project was knowing that my contribution would ultimately help improve someone’s experience within the programs, hopefully improving their life.”
Eliminating poverty is a collective responsibility — ATB and the summer interns stepped up and helped rebuild a vital part of how we’re working to strengthen the community. Thank you to the incredible group of students for your contributions towards our data collection practices. And thank you to ATB for continuing to be an invaluable partner in our mission to remove barriers and walk alongside people as they come out of poverty and homelessness.
There are countless ways that you could help make an impact on your community — just like these students did. Reach out to engagement@bissellcentre.org if you have an idea for how you could help us eliminate poverty in the community.