This month, the Advisory Committee on Data for Evidence Building (ACDEB) released its final report on implementation guidance for the National Secure Data Service. The ACDEB was tasked with making recommendations on how to promote the use of federal data for evidence building as a part of the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018. Members of the ACDEB included representatives of federal, state, and local governments as well as from various communities of data expertise including, privacy policy, information management, and evaluation. The Advisory Board of the Data Coalition issued the following statement: 

A robust, well-functioning National Secure Data Service can offer significant improvements to the national data infrastructure to improve the availability, quality, and use of data. That is why establishing a National Secure Data Service has been a long-standing priority of the Data Coalition Initiative. We are grateful for the thoughtful work the ACDEB has done. Improving data access, along with crucial privacy and confidentiality protections, is a vital step to increasing our nation’s capacity for evidence-building

We especially applaud the Committee’s attention to the important questions regarding appropriate resources, technical infrastructure and tools, as well as the need to coordinate efforts across government. We look forward to working with partners to realize the full benefit of a National Secure Data Service.

About the National Secure Data Service: 

The National Secure Data Service (NSDS) will unify and promote evidence-building activities across government. The NSDS is a component of the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, which includes major improvements to the national research infrastructure, and will provide for improved coordination across the national data ecosystem while ensuring strong privacy and confidentiality practices are used. The NSDS will encourage government and research partners to organize, analyze, and use information in support of evidence-informed decision-making to improve society.  Read our latest report on implementing the National Secure Data Service here.

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About the Data Coalition: The Data Coalition is an initiative of the non-profit Data Foundation. The membership-based initiative facilitates a strong national data community and advocates for responsible policies to make government data high-quality, accessible, and usable. The Data Coalition’s work unites the data communities that focus on data science, management, evaluation, statistics, and technology, including individuals in companies, nonprofit organizations, and academia.

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