At the Metro Human Relations Commission, our research team provides data‑driven insights to help Metro Government understand community needs, reduce barriers, and improve access to services for all Nashvillians. We focus on issues such as language access and communication between Metro and Nashvillians, workforce composition, gender and racial representation, and compliance with civil rights and equity standards.
Using both qualitative and quantitative methods, including public data analysis, surveys, focus groups, and community engagement, we apply robust methodologies to ensure findings are grounded in empirical data and informed by community perspectives.
Our goal is to produce research outcomes to guide policy decisions, improve service delivery, support training, and strengthen accountability across Metro departments. Our research publications are available online and in print.
Current Projects
Language Access
Our Language Access research how Nashvillians who speak languages other than English access Metro services and information. The work will take five parts:
- Stakeholder Engagement – Consult departments, community partners, and language access advocates
- Departmental Self-Assessments – Collect data on language access services and need
- Policy Review – Examine language access plans, departmental policies, and digital standards
- Community Needs Survey – Gather public input on language access and experiences
- Recommendations and Feedback – Share findings, refine, and finalize coordinated actions
IncluCivics
The IncluCivics report uses more than 97,000 data records collected on Metro employees from 2015 to 2024. The report aims to identify patterns in pay, representation, and county residency across race, gender, job classifications in all 52 Metro departments. Data sources include existing records from Metro Human Resources and demographic benchmarks from the American Community Survey (U.S. Census). Most findings are based on descriptive statistics; however, statistical modeling is applied where necessary to test for significant differences in salaries among demographic groups.
