Federal Data Strategy

Federal Data Strategy
Name	Federal Data Strategy
Established	2019
Jurisdiction	United States
Responsible authority	Office of Management and Budget
Related legislation	Evidence Act

Contents

Federal Data Strategy The Federal Data Strategy provides a framework for the United States federal executive branch to manage, share, and use data as a strategic asset across agencies including the Office of Management and Budget, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Defense, Department of Education, Department of Transportation, Department of Justice, Department of the Treasury, Department of Homeland Security, Environmental Protection Agency, National Institutes of Health, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, United States Census Bureau. It aligns with statutes such as the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018 and intersects with initiatives led by the Chief Data Officers Council, the Office of Personnel Management, the Government Accountability Office, and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. The Strategy informs data practices across programs like Medicare, Social Security Administration, Federal Aviation Administration, U.S. Coast Guard, and agencies engaged in National Institute of Standards and Technology standards development.

Overview

The Strategy articulates a multi-year roadmap that sets expectations for data governance, data quality, privacy, and use by federal entities including the Department of Veterans Affairs, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Food and Drug Administration, Internal Revenue Service, Small Business Administration, and Securities and Exchange Commission. It establishes goals connected to evidence-building under the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018 and operationalizes responsibilities identified by the Office of Management and Budget memos, the Memorandum on Promoting the Use of Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence, and standards from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The Strategy complements data systems used by the Federal Communications Commission, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Development traces to policy shifts after reports by the U.S. Government Accountability Office, studies from the National Academies, and legislation such as the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018 and the E-Government Act of 2002. Key milestones include directives from the White House issued during administrations of Donald Trump and Joe Biden, guidance from the Office of Management and Budget, and formation of the Chief Data Officers Council. Stakeholders included the National Science Foundation, RAND Corporation, Pew Research Center, Brookings Institution, Center for Data Innovation, Bipartisan Policy Center, Harvard Kennedy School, and industry groups such as the Information Technology Industry Council. International dialogues involved counterparts in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the European Commission, and agencies like the Canadian Centre for Data and United Kingdom's Government Digital Service.

Core principles draw on frameworks from the National Institute of Standards and Technology publication series, the OECD privacy guidelines, and recommendations by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The Strategy emphasizes stewardship consistent with the Privacy Act of 1974, safeguards referenced by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, and records retention topics tied to the National Archives and Records Administration. It invokes governance practices promoted by the Chief Information Officers Council, the Data Quality Act discourse, and ethics guidance from the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues and the National Science and Technology Council.

Implementation relies on roles such as agency Chief Data Officer, agency Chief Information Officer, and participation by the Chief Data Officers Council supported by the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Science and Technology Policy. Execution uses tools and standards from the National Institute of Standards and Technology, metadata practices influenced by the Dublin Core Metadata Initiative and the Schema.org community, and data exchange models interoperable with systems like healthcare.gov and the Data.gov platform. Oversight and audit functions involve the Government Accountability Office, Inspector General offices across agencies, and legal review by the Department of Justice.

Notable initiatives include open data efforts on Data.gov, evidence-building pilot projects within the Department of Labor, interoperability pilots with the Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense, health data modernization led by Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and geospatial data coordination linked to the U.S. Geological Survey and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Partnerships span the National Institutes of Health data commons, research programs at the National Science Foundation, collaboration with Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, Google, and data sharing frameworks involving Palantir Technologies in some contexts. Capacity-building includes training via the Federal Acquisition Institute, workforce programs at USAJOBS, and academic collaborations with Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, Carnegie Mellon University, and University of California, Berkeley centers.

Critiques center on resource constraints highlighted by the Government Accountability Office, tensions with privacy advocates such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation, legal scholars at Georgetown University Law Center and Harvard Law School, and concerns raised by civil rights organizations including the ACLU and the NAACP about disparate impacts. Technical challenges involve legacy systems in agencies like the Internal Revenue Service and Social Security Administration, cybersecurity risks described by Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and interoperability gaps identified by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Debates involve companies and think tanks including RAND Corporation, Brookings Institution, Cato Institute, and Heritage Foundation over scope, cost, and regulatory balance.

Reported outcomes include expanded datasets on Data.gov, improved evidence capacity at agencies such as the Department of Education and Department of Health and Human Services, and adoption of common standards influenced by the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the Office of Management and Budget. Independent evaluations by the Government Accountability Office, policy analyses from the Brookings Institution and Pew Charitable Trusts, and academic studies from Harvard Kennedy School and the National Bureau of Economic Research assess effects on program performance, privacy risk, and innovation. Ongoing work continues with coordination among the Office of Management and Budget, the Chief Data Officers Council, federal agencies, private sector partners, and international organizations like the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Category:United States federal policy