Our vision of data-driven government is that it be more connected, efficient, and responsive to the needs of citizens. It measures the outcomes we value most. It enables the free movement of open, non-sensitive data between federal agencies, state and local governments, and the public.
It brings advocates and scientists together to find the patterns in data that shed light on the most difficult social challenges—such as economic inequality, food security, fraud, and rising healthcare costs. Finally, it couples data with personalized, modern digital experiences making it easy to connect to services and perform civic functions.
Advances in data-driven government are building on decades of lessons learned about how to harness advances in information technology and put them to work for better public sector management and operational effectiveness. Mandatory disclosures from banks and financial institutions help regulators and consumers assess the health and stability of the financial system; similarly, voluntary disclosures from citizens shed light on how consumer financial products impact their lives.
Data-driven government is a commitment to making policy and program decisions based on observations gathered from data sets that measure social outcomes and citizen experiences. Rather than basing decisions on tradition, instinct, or politics, data-driven government taps into data sets in areas of key social concern, such as employment, education, financial, safety, security, health, and justice.
It does this by reaching beyond traditional data sources (public surveys, operational data siloes) and integrating new data sets shared by governments, businesses, and organizations across the country and around the world.
