There's excellent work happening in response to federal data threats at the national level, so much of it reflected in this forum. About nine months ago, with funding from California foundations, I began asking a related question: How are local communities and states thinking about – and responding to – these threats?
The core finding: California data users know they're dependent on federal data (94% draw on it), believe it's irreplaceable (89% call it essential), and are worried about losing it (4 in 5 expressed concern).
Interviewees also shared ideas for what can be done locally and statewide. While this project focused on California, many of the people who shaped these findings work nationally or in other states, and described the same pressures. So while the specifics are about California, the underlying structure – what's at risk, why it's hard to fix, what a state can do about it – is likely portable.
Full findings and a two-page overview: CA Data Innovation Findings - HILLCREST ADVISORY
And please reach out to me if you have any thoughts – this is just v1 of work that's beginning here in California.
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Andy Krackov
Hillcrest Advisory
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