Federal Data Users

Hi all --

We're on the lookout for short, tangible stories about how federal data benefit everyday Americans. Read my blog post about it that went live today below, and please take a few minutes to submit your own story about how your favorite dataset is improving American lives and livelihoods!

The Data We Take for Granted: Telling the Story of How Federal Data Benefits American Lives and Livelihoods

Across the nation, researchers, data scientists, policy analysts and other data nerds are anxiously monitoring the demise of their favorite federal datasets. Meanwhile, more casual users of federal data continue to analyze the deck chairs on the federal Titanic, unaware of the coming iceberg as federal cuts to staffing, contracting, advisory committees, and funding rip a giant hole in our nation's heretofore unsinkable data apparatus. Many data users took note when the datasets they depend on went dark during the great January 31 purge of data to "defend women," but then went on with their business after most of the data came back in the following weeks. 

Frankly, most of the American public doesn't care about this data drama. 

However, like many things in life, we've been taking our data for granted and will miss it terribly when it's gone. 

As the former U.S. Chief Data Scientist, I know first-hand how valuable and vulnerable our nation's federal data assets are. However, it took one of the deadliest natural disasters in U.S history to expand my perspective from that of just a data user, to a data advocate for life. 

Read the rest of the article here: The Data We Take for Granted

Here's an example:

The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, produced by the National Center for Education Statistics, is the source for College Navigator (https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/), a great resource for students and families seeking information on higher education opportunities. In addition to providing a rich set of unbiased information on colleges (enrollment, degree programs, tuition & fees, and much more) to help students find the institutions that fit their academic, financial, and personal needs, the site also includes links to additional information and resources on college prices and student financial aid.  It is a great example of federal data providing an important public service.

Hi all --

We're on the lookout for short, tangible stories about how federal data benefit everyday Americans. Read my blog post about it that went live today below, and please take a few minutes to submit your own story about how your favorite dataset is improving American lives and livelihoods!

The Data We Take for Granted: Telling the Story of How Federal Data Benefits American Lives and Livelihoods

Across the nation, researchers, data scientists, policy analysts and other data nerds are anxiously monitoring the demise of their favorite federal datasets. Meanwhile, more casual users of federal data continue to analyze the deck chairs on the federal Titanic, unaware of the coming iceberg as federal cuts to staffing, contracting, advisory committees, and funding rip a giant hole in our nation's heretofore unsinkable data apparatus. Many data users took note when the datasets they depend on went dark during the great January 31 purge of data to "defend women," but then went on with their business after most of the data came back in the following weeks. 

Frankly, most of the American public doesn't care about this data drama. 

However, like many things in life, we've been taking our data for granted and will miss it terribly when it's gone. 

As the former U.S. Chief Data Scientist, I know first-hand how valuable and vulnerable our nation's federal data assets are. However, it took one of the deadliest natural disasters in U.S history to expand my perspective from that of just a data user, to a data advocate for life. 

Read the rest of the article here: The Data We Take for Granted

Here's an example:

The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, produced by the National Center for Education Statistics, is the source for College Navigator (https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/), a great resource for students and families seeking information on higher education opportunities. In addition to providing a rich set of unbiased information on colleges (enrollment, degree programs, tuition & fees, and much more) to help students find the institutions that fit their academic, financial, and personal needs, the site also includes links to additional information and resources on college prices and student financial aid.  It is a great example of federal data providing an important public service.

Hi all --

We're on the lookout for short, tangible stories about how federal data benefit everyday Americans. Read my blog post about it that went live today below, and please take a few minutes to submit your own story about how your favorite dataset is improving American lives and livelihoods!

The Data We Take for Granted: Telling the Story of How Federal Data Benefits American Lives and Livelihoods

Across the nation, researchers, data scientists, policy analysts and other data nerds are anxiously monitoring the demise of their favorite federal datasets. Meanwhile, more casual users of federal data continue to analyze the deck chairs on the federal Titanic, unaware of the coming iceberg as federal cuts to staffing, contracting, advisory committees, and funding rip a giant hole in our nation's heretofore unsinkable data apparatus. Many data users took note when the datasets they depend on went dark during the great January 31 purge of data to "defend women," but then went on with their business after most of the data came back in the following weeks. 

Frankly, most of the American public doesn't care about this data drama. 

However, like many things in life, we've been taking our data for granted and will miss it terribly when it's gone. 

As the former U.S. Chief Data Scientist, I know first-hand how valuable and vulnerable our nation's federal data assets are. However, it took one of the deadliest natural disasters in U.S history to expand my perspective from that of just a data user, to a data advocate for life. 

Read the rest of the article here: The Data We Take for Granted

I'd add one revision - that both IPEDS and the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) power the College Scorecard. I know it's a small revision, but there's lots of agreement about the importance of IPEDS and less about the importance of NSLDS. So just throwing that out there.

Another example is the Great Schools, which people rely on for information about the quality of schools in neighborhoods where they are looking to buy homes, gets its data from the Common Core of Data in large part. 

Here's an example:

The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, produced by the National Center for Education Statistics, is the source for College Navigator (https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/), a great resource for students and families seeking information on higher education opportunities. In addition to providing a rich set of unbiased information on colleges (enrollment, degree programs, tuition & fees, and much more) to help students find the institutions that fit their academic, financial, and personal needs, the site also includes links to additional information and resources on college prices and student financial aid.  It is a great example of federal data providing an important public service.

Hi all --

We're on the lookout for short, tangible stories about how federal data benefit everyday Americans. Read my blog post about it that went live today below, and please take a few minutes to submit your own story about how your favorite dataset is improving American lives and livelihoods!

The Data We Take for Granted: Telling the Story of How Federal Data Benefits American Lives and Livelihoods

Across the nation, researchers, data scientists, policy analysts and other data nerds are anxiously monitoring the demise of their favorite federal datasets. Meanwhile, more casual users of federal data continue to analyze the deck chairs on the federal Titanic, unaware of the coming iceberg as federal cuts to staffing, contracting, advisory committees, and funding rip a giant hole in our nation's heretofore unsinkable data apparatus. Many data users took note when the datasets they depend on went dark during the great January 31 purge of data to "defend women," but then went on with their business after most of the data came back in the following weeks. 

Frankly, most of the American public doesn't care about this data drama. 

However, like many things in life, we've been taking our data for granted and will miss it terribly when it's gone. 

As the former U.S. Chief Data Scientist, I know first-hand how valuable and vulnerable our nation's federal data assets are. However, it took one of the deadliest natural disasters in U.S history to expand my perspective from that of just a data user, to a data advocate for life. 

Read the rest of the article here: The Data We Take for Granted

Love the idea of including Great Schools.

Just want to clarify that College Navigator and College Scorecard are distinct resources.  Since the Scorecard was originated during the Obama Administration -- and is likely therefore suspect among Republicans -- I chose to focus on the College Navigator.  Both are useful tools and worthy of mention, and I agree with Kate that spotlighting NSLDS is worthwhile.  

Hope that is helpful.

Jaci

I'd add one revision - that both IPEDS and the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) power the College Scorecard. I know it's a small revision, but there's lots of agreement about the importance of IPEDS and less about the importance of NSLDS. So just throwing that out there.

Another example is the Great Schools, which people rely on for information about the quality of schools in neighborhoods where they are looking to buy homes, gets its data from the Common Core of Data in large part. 

Here's an example:

The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, produced by the National Center for Education Statistics, is the source for College Navigator (https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/), a great resource for students and families seeking information on higher education opportunities. In addition to providing a rich set of unbiased information on colleges (enrollment, degree programs, tuition & fees, and much more) to help students find the institutions that fit their academic, financial, and personal needs, the site also includes links to additional information and resources on college prices and student financial aid.  It is a great example of federal data providing an important public service.

Hi all --

We're on the lookout for short, tangible stories about how federal data benefit everyday Americans. Read my blog post about it that went live today below, and please take a few minutes to submit your own story about how your favorite dataset is improving American lives and livelihoods!

The Data We Take for Granted: Telling the Story of How Federal Data Benefits American Lives and Livelihoods

Across the nation, researchers, data scientists, policy analysts and other data nerds are anxiously monitoring the demise of their favorite federal datasets. Meanwhile, more casual users of federal data continue to analyze the deck chairs on the federal Titanic, unaware of the coming iceberg as federal cuts to staffing, contracting, advisory committees, and funding rip a giant hole in our nation's heretofore unsinkable data apparatus. Many data users took note when the datasets they depend on went dark during the great January 31 purge of data to "defend women," but then went on with their business after most of the data came back in the following weeks. 

Frankly, most of the American public doesn't care about this data drama. 

However, like many things in life, we've been taking our data for granted and will miss it terribly when it's gone. 

As the former U.S. Chief Data Scientist, I know first-hand how valuable and vulnerable our nation's federal data assets are. However, it took one of the deadliest natural disasters in U.S history to expand my perspective from that of just a data user, to a data advocate for life. 

Read the rest of the article here: The Data We Take for Granted

Love the idea of including Great Schools.

Just want to clarify that College Navigator and College Scorecard are distinct resources.  Since the Scorecard was originated during the Obama Administration -- and is likely therefore suspect among Republicans -- I chose to focus on the College Navigator.  Both are useful tools and worthy of mention, and I agree with Kate that spotlighting NSLDS is worthwhile.  

Hope that is helpful.

Jaci

I'd add one revision - that both IPEDS and the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) power the College Scorecard. I know it's a small revision, but there's lots of agreement about the importance of IPEDS and less about the importance of NSLDS. So just throwing that out there.

Another example is the Great Schools, which people rely on for information about the quality of schools in neighborhoods where they are looking to buy homes, gets its data from the Common Core of Data in large part. 

Here's an example:

The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, produced by the National Center for Education Statistics, is the source for College Navigator (https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/), a great resource for students and families seeking information on higher education opportunities. In addition to providing a rich set of unbiased information on colleges (enrollment, degree programs, tuition & fees, and much more) to help students find the institutions that fit their academic, financial, and personal needs, the site also includes links to additional information and resources on college prices and student financial aid.  It is a great example of federal data providing an important public service.

Hi all --

We're on the lookout for short, tangible stories about how federal data benefit everyday Americans. Read my blog post about it that went live today below, and please take a few minutes to submit your own story about how your favorite dataset is improving American lives and livelihoods!

The Data We Take for Granted: Telling the Story of How Federal Data Benefits American Lives and Livelihoods

Across the nation, researchers, data scientists, policy analysts and other data nerds are anxiously monitoring the demise of their favorite federal datasets. Meanwhile, more casual users of federal data continue to analyze the deck chairs on the federal Titanic, unaware of the coming iceberg as federal cuts to staffing, contracting, advisory committees, and funding rip a giant hole in our nation's heretofore unsinkable data apparatus. Many data users took note when the datasets they depend on went dark during the great January 31 purge of data to "defend women," but then went on with their business after most of the data came back in the following weeks. 

Frankly, most of the American public doesn't care about this data drama. 

However, like many things in life, we've been taking our data for granted and will miss it terribly when it's gone. 

As the former U.S. Chief Data Scientist, I know first-hand how valuable and vulnerable our nation's federal data assets are. However, it took one of the deadliest natural disasters in U.S history to expand my perspective from that of just a data user, to a data advocate for life. 

Read the rest of the article here: The Data We Take for Granted