Government Capacity

Data Policy Institute

06.30.26 | 1 min read

Advancing the Future of Public Data

Public data are essential for running a modern society – impacting small businesses, families, the economy, public health, national security, and everything in between. The federal government alone has hundreds of thousands of datasets that function as public infrastructure, enabled by thousands of civil servants with deep domain expertise.

The FAS Data Policy Institute is a catalyst for advancing the field of data policy to build better outcomes for the American people.

The Data Policy Institute is building the civic infrastructure to:

1. Monitor changes to federal datasets;
2. Mobilize data stakeholders to engage with government officials;
3. Advance policies to protect and improve essential public data; and
4. Design America’s future data ecosystem.

What distinguishes the Institute is its;

• Scope across all domains and categories of data;
• Ability to deploy technical tools to achieve policy outcomes;
• Orientation to ensuring that public data benefit all Americans; and
• Collaborations with a diverse collective of data colleagues.

Ultimately, the goal of the Data Policy Institute is to advance the movement toward a more resilient national data infrastructure.

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Government Capacity

Press release

Federation of American Scientists Launches Data Policy Institute to Advance Federal Data Essential to the Public

“Federal data and access to it is not a partisan issue. It is a people issue. Our country cannot achieve greatness without access to the data that measure what we value, who we are, and where we’re heading.”

06.30.26 | 4 min read

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