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5 Building a 21st Century National Data Infrastructure Requires Identifying Short- and Medium-Term Activities
Pages 109-134

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From page 109...
... The assets tapped should include data from the private sector, federal statistical agencies, federal program agencies, state and local government agencies, and other data holders. Such a vision will require trust, data safeguards, legislation, organizational entities, and partnerships that do not yet exist.
From page 110...
... All the logic that supports the blending of federal administrative data with statistical survey data to construct better statistical information applies to state and local government data as well. Third, CEP is silent on statistical uses of private sector data for the benefit of common-good statistics.
From page 111...
... Later steps in achieving the vision will be dependent on: • Further legislation to implement CEP recommendations; • The technical and statistical outcomes of the many pilot projects now ongoing; • How private sector stakeholders and other nongovernmental data holders evolve in their contributions to national statistics that pro mote the common good; • Future refinement of NSDS vision; • How data sharing under NSDS evolves; and • Concurrent changes in federal statistical agencies. In considering its vision, the panel assumes that legislative changes will have important implications for private sector incentives for sharing data to improve statistical information.
From page 112...
... Transparent pro cedures allow data holders to understand how their data are being used, by whom, and for what societal benefit. Policies and principles inform day-to-day practices and underpin effective controls related to data access and use.
From page 113...
... The panel supports CEP's evocation of the principle of "humility" -- the notion that data use must not be driven exclusively by the analysts but should involve the concerns of data subjects. In the short term, these dialogues with data subjects and data holders should envision and evaluate alternative structures and practices that would continue the value-based devotion to a data-subject orientation, while incorporating new privacy-protecting tools created over time.
From page 114...
... Note that federal statistical agencies have missions limited exclusively to statistical uses of data. The Evidence Act granted statistical agencies the right to acquire federal-agency administrative data for statistical purposes unless such use is prohibited by another law.
From page 115...
... In the new legislation, the treatment of "statistical uses" in contrast to "administrative uses" is important to build the trust of data subjects and data holders in a new data infrastructure. ATTRIBUTE 3: MOBILIZATION OF RELEVANT DIGITAL DATA ASSETS, BLENDED IN STATISTICAL AGGREGATES TO PROVIDE BENEFITS TO DATA HOLDERS, WITH SOCIETAL BENEFITS PROPORTIONATE TO POSSIBLE COSTS AND RISKS The variety and volume of the potential data assets available to a new data infrastructure are large.
From page 116...
... .1 As mentioned previously, the Evidence Act has provided broader statutory authority for combining data from federal administrative and statistical agencies, unless prohibited by law. The Evidence Act did not, however, implement CEP recommendations related to providing access to important state administrative data.
From page 117...
... SOURCE: Panel generated. dialogue with private sector and other nongovernmental data holders can sharpen mutual understanding of the value of data sharing for national statistical purposes.
From page 118...
... Ideally, the first newly acquired data assets, when blended with other data, would produce statistical information and research products that would provide new insights into the functioning of the economy or society at large. In short, in the panel's judgment, the first new data assets to be added to those currently used for statistical purposes should be easily acquired and demonstrate the value of blending data from diverse sources for an increased understanding of national issues.
From page 119...
... In the panel's judgment, it would be useful to convene a group to evaluate various methods for documenting and possibly quantifying the benefits and costs of acquiring and using data. In some cases, to incentivize state and local data holders, a new data infrastructure may have to help cover the costs incurred by data holders.
From page 120...
... Legislative and regulatory priorities regard­ ing these CEP recommendations should be a short-term priority, in the panel's judgment. In the panel's view, a first step could be to catalog all the state regulatory features that affect data sharing, especially those that might affect blending with private sector data.
From page 121...
... In the short term, it would be useful for an expert group to consider legislative proposals that could incentivize data holders to share their data with a new data infrastructure. Such proposals for incentives could include legal liability protection against legal actions directly related to the act of data sharing, or possible tax incentives.
From page 122...
... current procedures for accessing data within data-sharing organizations could begin at these convenings, including documentation of decisionmaking procedures for granting access, both internal and external to the organization. The convenings could catalog the variety of software platforms used by potential data-sharing organizations and could assemble information on the metadata practices of various organizations.
From page 123...
... Other countries have employed alternative formal mechanisms: • An ombudsperson to mediate the public's, data subjects', or data holders' concerns with the organizations using the infrastructure; • An information commissioner; • A multi-person commission or other institution; and • A Review Council that regulates data sharing. In the panel's opinion, all of these mechanisms gain their influence when they reveal to society how data are being used.
From page 124...
... ATTRIBUTE 7: STATE-OF-THE-ART PRACTICES FOR ACCESS, STATISTICAL, COORDINATION, AND COMPUTATIONAL ACTIVITIES; CONTINUOUSLY IMPROVED TO EFFICIENTLY CREATE INCREASINGLY SECURE AND USEFUL INFORMATION Earlier chapters in this report noted a large number of ongoing pilot projects, each of which is combining datasets not originally designed to be combined. All of these pilots are seeking more timely, accurate, and granular statistical information that can inform decisionmakers and the public.
From page 125...
... Staying current with new developments will require continuous updating of skills. Institutionalizing ongoing learning as a norm will necessitate additional training in the short 7 Note that this design is also compatible with the notion of data minimization -- that only the data necessary for a given purpose are acquired to fulfill that purpose -- as another tool to reduce risk to data subjects and data holders.
From page 126...
... whether the federal statistical system alone governs the entity/entities accessing private sector data, or whether governance involves a new public-private partnership. If NSDS becomes the direct portal for access to private sector data for national statistical purposes, fewer steps are necessary.
From page 127...
... However, this scaling up will also identify benefits for private sector data holders that can be used to incentivize broader data sharing. Scaling up data-blending pilot projects to test data-service capabilities and responsiveness will provide important insights and identify issues that may need to be addressed.
From page 128...
... In that way, a new entity hardens the country's private sector data against cybersecurity breaches and inadvertent re-identification of data. Dialogue between the entity's leadership and data holders would guide either path.
From page 129...
... for research uses of shared data, to demonstrate value 4. Launch communication campaign about the value of research as a "statistical use" of data 129 continued
From page 130...
... TABLE 5-1  Continued 130 Attribute of New Data Infrastructure Short-Term Tasks Medium-Term Tasks Mobilization of all 1. Seek researcher input regarding SAP implementation as an 1. Monitor Data Hub's use of SAP as an application, relevant national digital access tool approval, and access tool data assets 2. Monitor activities of ICSP working group on private sector 2. Access federal program/administrative data for data statistical purposes; document benefits and costs 3. Monitor "data-connecting" pilots collecting data at the 3. Access state, territory, tribal and local data for data holder's site statistical purposes; document benefits and costs 4. Publish criteria for prioritizing new data assets 4. Implement "data-connecting" learnings and 5. Convene a group to evaluate methods for documenting technologies into statistical program production and possibly quantifying benefits and costs 5. Clarify data-governance access and use policies, 6. Identify blended statistics generated by statistical agencies, rules, and procedures incorporating learnings document and possibly quantify benefits and costs from short-term activities 7. Monitor pilot projects for blended federal/state/local data 8. Consider feasibility and means of covering some data holder costs associated with data sharing Reformed legal 1. Legislation establishes the design, authorities, and funding 1. Enact legal authorities for all necessary dataauthorities for NSDSa sharing entities 2. Implement Evidence Act regulations and rule making 2. Adopt legal protections for private sector data 3. Identify legislation/regulatory priorities regarding CEP sharing state-related recommendations 3. Introduce legislative strategies/priorities 4. Develop data synchronization bill legislative strategyb 5. Identify legal options that would incentivize data holders to share data
From page 131...
... Governance framework 1. Convene potential data-sharing organizations 1. Produce legislative language for governance and standards 2. Document current practices in data access procedures 3. Catalog current data platforms of potential data-sharing 2. Draft regulatory guidelines for practices organizations 3. Convene relevant stakeholders to begin 4. Document current methods of data curation, protection, developing standards responding to infrastructure and preservation priorities 5. Document existing metadata practices 4. Establish governance roles and responsibilities 6. Identify priorities for standards development 7. Draft data-sharing guidelines Transparency to the 1. Identify communication priorities regarding transparency 1. Implement communication strategy that responds public 2. Sponsor public discussion regarding alternative oversight to stakeholders' priorities structures to achieve transparency 2. Draft legislative language describing oversight 3. Engage stakeholders to evaluate alternative approaches vehicles to achieve transparency State-of-the-art practices 1. Exchange knowledge about needed staff skillsets to 1. Develop new partnerships across sectors to provide support new operations of infrastructure technical skills for all organizations involved 2. Build communities of practice to catalyze the technical 2. Continuously update procedures and practices to skills base achieve goals of infrastructure 3. Develop professional culture within pilot projects for data protection 4. Develop organizational procedures for continuous updating of tools and practices 131 continued
From page 132...
... Begin building the necessary 5. Sponsor bipartisan, multisector dialogue on how best governance framework and support to govern private sector data use for national statistical 3. Scale up data-blending pilots to test the purposes responsiveness of data service organizational 6. Expand voluntary private sector data sharing for statistical capabilities uses 4. Identify challenges to be addressed and document benefits accruing to data holders aThe CHIPS and Science Act (PL 117-167) was signed into law on August 9, 2022.
From page 133...
... In the panel's view, statistical agencies should provide useful information and services back to data holders that inform data holders' decisions, operations, and activities. In turn, the public, data holders, and key stakeholders should support legislation and other changes that facilitate and support expanded data access and use.


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