In December of 2023, Congresswoman Bonamici (D-OR) and Congressman Fitzpatrick (R-PA) jointly introduced the bipartisan New Essential Education Discoveries (NEED) Act. This legislation stands as a forward-thinking, bipartisan initiative aimed at substantially improving student outcomes by strategically investing in education research and state data systems. The NEED Act’s goal is to tackle persistent opportunity and achievement gaps in education. 

"A standout provision of the NEED Act is its allocation of $500 million toward modernizing Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems (SLDS),” said Corinna Turbes, Data Foundation Policy Director. “This pivotal investment aims to enhance data sharing and utilization across agencies and states, empowering policymakers with comprehensive insights to identify and address existing gaps. By prioritizing high-quality, privacy-protected data, the Act aims to equip policymakers, students, and families with crucial information to foster opportunities for all students to thrive."

The Data Foundation supports this bill, recognizing its potential to make significant investments benefiting students nationwide. The Data Foundation and the members of the Data Coalition community urge Congress to quickly work towards passing this legislation. 

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Yesterday, Representatives Derek Kilmer (D-WA), William Timmons (R-SC), and Dean Phillips (D-MN) re-introduced a resolution (H.Con.Res.49) to establish a Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking that would convene experts to review, analyze and make recommendations to Congress on how to better incorporate federal data and evidence-based policymaking in the legislative process. 

This builds on the previous, successful bipartisan U.S. Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking from 2016, which focused on data and evidence in the executive branch. That Commission resulted in unanimous, bipartisan recommendations that informed new laws, such as the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act and the establishment of the National Secure Data Service demonstration project. 

Nick Hart, President and CEO of the Data Foundation, issued the following statement on behalf of our Data Coalition Initiative about the introduction of the resolution: 

“Congress has the challenging responsibility of gathering information about every government program for the American people, assessing performance and outcomes, prioritizing resources, and constantly seeking better ways to do its job and improve the institution. This resolution helps address all of these tasks by establishing a thoughtful process for determining how Congress can ensure that evidence and data are accessible when needed for critical decisions in the future. The Data Foundation and Data Coalition members are glad for the commitment to improving the legislative process and look forward to supporting the Commission’s efforts.”

This month, the Advisory Committee on Data for Evidence Building (ACDEB) released its final report on implementation guidance for the National Secure Data Service. The ACDEB was tasked with making recommendations on how to promote the use of federal data for evidence building as a part of the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018. Members of the ACDEB included representatives of federal, state, and local governments as well as from various communities of data expertise including, privacy policy, information management, and evaluation. The Advisory Board of the Data Coalition issued the following statement: 

A robust, well-functioning National Secure Data Service can offer significant improvements to the national data infrastructure to improve the availability, quality, and use of data. That is why establishing a National Secure Data Service has been a long-standing priority of the Data Coalition Initiative. We are grateful for the thoughtful work the ACDEB has done. Improving data access, along with crucial privacy and confidentiality protections, is a vital step to increasing our nation’s capacity for evidence-building

We especially applaud the Committee’s attention to the important questions regarding appropriate resources, technical infrastructure and tools, as well as the need to coordinate efforts across government. We look forward to working with partners to realize the full benefit of a National Secure Data Service.

About the National Secure Data Service: 

The National Secure Data Service (NSDS) will unify and promote evidence-building activities across government. The NSDS is a component of the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, which includes major improvements to the national research infrastructure, and will provide for improved coordination across the national data ecosystem while ensuring strong privacy and confidentiality practices are used. The NSDS will encourage government and research partners to organize, analyze, and use information in support of evidence-informed decision-making to improve society.  Read our latest report on implementing the National Secure Data Service here.

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About the Data Coalition: The Data Coalition is an initiative of the non-profit Data Foundation. The membership-based initiative facilitates a strong national data community and advocates for responsible policies to make government data high-quality, accessible, and usable. The Data Coalition’s work unites the data communities that focus on data science, management, evaluation, statistics, and technology, including individuals in companies, nonprofit organizations, and academia.

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Senators Mark Warner (D-VA) and Mike Crapo (R-ID) introduced the bipartisan Financial Data Transparency Act (S.4295), which will improve data quality and standardization in the U.S. financial regulatory system. The proposed legislation directs U.S. financial regulatory agencies to adopt consistent data fields and formats for regulatory information collected by agencies. Nick Hart, President of the Data Foundation, issued the following statement on behalf of the Data Coalition Initiative about the introduction of the bill: 

“The bipartisan Financial Data Transparency Act will modernize our national financial reporting infrastructure to leverage data in a smart, timely, and critical way. These necessary data reforms are a tremendous benefit to everyone whether they are on Wall Street or Main Street, because we all need reliable, quality information at hand to make good decisions. This legislation ensures our financial reporting system has the capability for modernized reporting to benefit investors, businesses, regulators, policymakers, and ultimately the American people with more accurate and timely information for decision-making that impacts our economy. On behalf of the members of the Data Coalition, I applaud the leadership of Senators Warner and Crapo. We look forward to the Senate rapidly approving the legislation.” 

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On May 12, 2022, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), along with co-sponsors Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH), Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), and Sen. John Boozman (R-AR),introduced the Secure Research Data Network Act,  establishing pilot projects for privacy-enhancing technologies at the National Science Foundation. On behalf of the Data Coalition members, Data Foundation President Nick Hart issued the following statement on the legislative proposal:

As our society increasingly uses data to inform decision-making for individuals, businesses, and policymakers, we must continually pursue innovations and enhancements to protect and secure information. The Secure Research Data Network Act promotes the exploration of privacy-enhancing technologies by directing the National Science Foundation to conduct pilot projects with strong oversight, clear transparency, and the potential to improve upon existing capabilities for data sharing in government. Launching a series of pilot projects for approaches like multi-party computation ensures that full consideration may be provided to how new approaches can be integrated into existing privacy laws and data use practices to responsibly enhance insights about important policy challenges, while also testing approaches for improving how information is used.  The Secure Research Data Network Act also aligns with a recommendation from the U.S. Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking for the federal government to further explore and invest in demonstration projects of privacy-enhancing technologies. The Data Coalition supports the Secure Research Data Network Act and efforts to ensure goals for data sharing and privacy protections are jointly achieved.

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The Data Coalition is an initiative of the non-profit Data Foundation. The membership-based initiative facilitates a strong national data community and advocates for responsible policies to make government data high-quality, accessible, and usable. The Data Coalition’s work unites the data communities that focus on data science, management, evaluation, statistics, and technology, including individuals in companies, nonprofit organizations, and academia

On January 25, a House Committee presented a bipartisan proposal to extend the Chief Data Officers Council as Section 210 of the Federal Information Security Modernization Act of 2022. Nick Hart, Data Foundation President issued the following statement on behalf of the Data Coalition’s members:

Over the last three years, Chief Data Officers (CDO) across government demonstrated just how vital it is to focus on data governance and sharing to improve how agencies fulfill their missions using data. We know that CDOs learn from each other and continue to build a stronger community every day, in partnership with program managers, beneficiaries, grantees, and stakeholders. 

Last year the Data Coalition called for the CDO Council to be extended, following insights compiled from the Data Foundation’s 2021 Federal CDO Survey. The insights from that survey suggested that CDOs valued the interactions with peers alongside the growth of the CDO function, including addressing technical responsibilities and data maturity in their organizations.  

For more information about the role of CDOs in the federal government, see the Data Foundation’s 2021 Survey of Federal CDOs.

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The Data Coalition is an initiative of the non-profit Data Foundation. The membership-based initiative facilitates a strong national data community and advocates for responsible policies to make government data high-quality, accessible, and usable. The Data Coalition’s work unites the data communities that focus on data science, management, evaluation, statistics, and technology, including individuals in companies, nonprofit organizations, and academia.

Today, Congress passed the FY 2022 National Defense Authorization Act which directs the Office of Personnel Management to establish an occupational series for digital careers, including data science and data management. On behalf of Data Coalition Initiative members, Data Foundation Policy Director Corinna Turbes offered the following statement:

“We are thrilled to see Congress take this important step in creating a federal workforce that is equipped to manage and leverage data across federal agencies. The Data Coalition Initiative has been a strong advocate for the creation of a data science occupational series in government.  Improving the recruiting and retention of top talent in the federal government’s workforce is crucial to creating data literate organizations that can fully realize the benefits of leveraging data for evidence-informed decision making.”

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The Data Coalition is an initiative of the non-profit Data Foundation. The membership-based initiative facilitates a strong national data community and advocates for responsible policies to make government data high-quality, accessible, and usable. The Data Coalition’s work unites the data communities that focus on data science, management, evaluation, statistics, and technology, including individuals in companies, nonprofit organizations, and academia.

Today, the House of Representatives voted to pass the Financial Transparency Act (H.R. 2989). This bipartisan bill, introduced by Reps. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and Patrick McHenry (R-NC), directs seven of the major U.S. financial regulatory agencies to adopt consistent data fields and formats, including a non proprietary legal entity identifier, for information already collected from regulated entities. Nick Hart, President of the Data Foundation, issued the following statement about the passage of the Financial Transparency Act:

“The Financial Transparency Act will modernize our financial regulatory system, with common-sense data reforms that will benefit regulators, regulated entities, and investors. With the strong bipartisan support seen from the House of Representatives, the Financial Transparency Act will help provide more accurate, timely, and comprehensive financial information. We are grateful for the leadership from Representative Maloney and Representative McHenry in co-sponsoring this legislation, and hope to see the Senate advance the Financial Transparency Act  as soon as possible.” 

Download our Financial Transparency Act fact sheet here.

On October 21, the White House Office of Management and Budget released the 2021 Federal Data Strategy Action Plan. Nick Hart, Data Foundation President issued the following statement on the action plan:

The Federal Data Strategy 2021 Action Plan is yet another sign of the continued maturation and leadership of federal Chief Data Officers. The new action plan builds on recommendations and advice provided in a public forum hosted a year ago by the Data Coalition and data experts from industry and academia. 

The Data Coalition members appreciate that the action plan focuses on improving the data skills of the federal workforce and emphasizes the leadership role from the data, evaluation, and statistical officials created by the Evidence Act. There are still many barriers to using data in government, but with leadership from the federal CDO Council and sustained resources, we will be more likely to realize the benefits of evidence-informed policy in practice. 

For more information about the role of CDOs in the federal government, see the Data Foundation’s 2021 Survey of Federal CDOs.

On July 20th, the House Oversight and Reform Committee reported favorably on the creation of a new occupation series. H.R. 3335 would establish an occupational series for Federal positions in software development, software engineering, data science and data management.  On behalf of the Data Coalition Initiative members, Data Foundation Policy Director Corinna Turbes issued the following statement:

Getting the right talent in the federal workforce is absolutely vital for effectively using data. The proposed occupational series will help leaders in government successfully recruit and hire the talent they need to leverage data strategically and to innovatively fulfill their missions. The Data Coalition  hopes to see this bill advance quickly through Congress to strengthen the federal workforce.

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The Data Coalition is an initiative of the non-profit Data Foundation. The membership-based initiative facilitates a strong national data community and advocates for responsible policies to make government data high-quality, accessible, and usable. The Data Coalition’s work unites the data communities that focus on data science, management, evaluation, statistics, and technology, including individuals in companies, nonprofit organizations, and academia.