2019 is off to a great start for anyone in the business of working with data in the public sector. President Trump signed the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act on January 14th, and with it, the OPEN Government Data Act has finally become law.[1]
The law requires all non-sensitive government data to be made available in machine-readable formats. In addition, agencies will be held accountable to help maintain a comprehensive federal data catalog, managed by OMB, and to create a non-political chief data officer to lead strategy and management of information assets.[2] The White House Office of Management and Budget will also create a Chief Data Officer Council, comprised of chief data officers from across the government to create best practices for the creation, use, protection and dissemination of data. At last, every agency will have a CDO to help set strategy around data, not only in terms of infrastructure and management to scale within complex IT environments, but how to turn information into assets to solve mission objectives.
Though this is a great start, and to some, a long overdue necessary endeavor, patience is required. Many policies and systems will need to be updated and created before many of the agencies are in a place to comply with the law. Herein lies the opportunity for many technology companies. Most, if not all, public sector agencies have opportunities for technology companies to help accelerate data management, integration, governance, protection and strategies around how to utilize and build data science team and AI workflows.
DLT takes great pride in working closely with our customers and clients to accelerate data programs and innovations within the federal government.
[1] OPEN stands for Open, Public, Electronic and Necessary. The bill initially passed the House in November 2017 and later passed the Senate on December 19, 2018. The history of the legislation can be found at https://www.datacoalition.org/open-government-data-act/
[2] The legislation stipulates that the Government Accountability Office will conduct a study over the next three years to assess whether agencies have complied with the law.
DLT takes great pride in working closely with our customers and clients to accelerate data programs and innovations within the federal government. Contact Sherry Bennett (sherry.bennett@www.dlt.com) for inquiries regarding how best to accelerate data maturity within your organization.
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