Data-Driven Government

On the shortlist of the federal government’s most valuable assets, data has proven difficult for agencies to capitalize fully on. But improvements in technology, modern management solutions and new administration policies are propelling agencies toward a data-driven government.

The Office of Management and Budget, for example, recently issued 11 action items for agencies to implement through its 2021 data strategy. The mandatory actions cover a wide array of areas, including data governance, workforce development and data management, and calls upon agencies to increase data literacy among all employees.

While progress using data to improve business decision-making varies across the federal landscape. NASA, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Small Business Administration, and Veterans Affairs Department are among those called out by a recent Government Accountability Office report as leading the pack. Each of those agencies was able to demonstrate use cases where efforts to use performance information led to improved business outcomes.

Some agencies are improving the ways they use mission-focused data, too. The National Institutes of Health, for example, developed a centralized resource that integrates COVID-19-related electronic health record data from various organizations into a single, seamless structure credentialed researchers can use to combat the health crisis.

In this ebook, Nextgov examines these and other efforts made by agencies to move toward a more data-driven federal government.