Data & Analytics

Why address confidentiality programs are broken and how we can fix them

COMMENTARY | To protect the privacy of at-risk people requires better regulations limiting data collection, stronger consumer rights and scalable solutions for removing personal information from the internet.

  • By Rob Shavell

Digital atlas could reveal zoning's social impact

An initiative to map and digitize states’ zoning codes could help policymakers and citizens address urgent challenges in their communities.

  • By Molly Bolan

Virtual innovation center tackles health interoperability challenges

The Interoperability Institute will leverage AWS cloud services to accelerate health data sharing.

  • By Chris Teale

Data for safely routing carbon-capture pipelines

The National Energy Technology Laboratory is developing data tools for state and local agencies making pipeline routing decisions for carbon capture and storage projects.

  • By Kaitlyn Levinson

Withheld: The potentially life-saving map that most can’t see

First responders, law enforcement and some health care professionals can access ODMAP—if they know about it. Most policy makers and members of the public cannot.

  • By Madelyn Beck, Wyofile

How local leaders can make complex data understandable

As governments strive for data-driven decisions, one expert breaks down how data stewards can make complex issues understandable and impactful for nonexperts.

  • By Kaitlyn Levinson

A closer look at ID verification across state benefits applications

The Digital Benefits Network’s open dataset details the identity proofing requirements of 158 applications for benefits programs.

  • By Kaitlyn Levinson

How agencies can automate data extraction at scale

COMMENTARY | By combining optical character recognition technology with machine learning, agencies can leverage their unstructured data more easily to improve efficiency, reduce backlogs and solve operational challenges.

  • By Matt Macnak

Virginia ABC officials say they’ve ‘automated’ liquor lotteries to prevent future errors

Authorities say they’ve worked to limit possibility of human error and Excel mistakes.

  • By Graham Moomaw, Virginia Mercury

GOP-led states plan new voter data systems to replace one they rejected

But few states offer details on how these new systems will work.

  • By Zachary Roth, New Jersey Monitor

User-friendly data reporting helps one agency tackle hate acts

When hate incidents are underreported, victims are underserved. That’s why the California Civil Rights Department launched a phone- and web-based system for individuals to safely and securely report their experiences.

  • By Kaitlyn Levinson

Building better maps with open data on building heights

To inform broadband buildouts, positioning of solar panels and development of digital twins, state and local agencies can now tap into open building height data.

  • By Stephanie Kanowitz

Is the census still the only reliable population data source?

While the census is still the "gold standard" of data, state and local governments are exploring alternative sources to supplement missing or unrepresentative datasets, experts say.

  • By Kaitlyn Levinson

The challenge in identifying problematic online gambling

While technology can help spot those who exhibit signs of problem gambling, finding just what to measure and interpreting that data is tricky.

  • By Chris Teale
Featured eBooks

Metadata catalog refreshes one state’s water use insights

A metadata catalog is helping Arizona water resource managers quickly find and analyze the data needed by water users, planners and decision-makers.

  • By Susan Miller

Why Republican-led states keep leaving a group that verifies voter rolls

Some cite ‘election integrity’ in their decision to depart.

  • By Matt Vasilogambros, Stateline

Ohio Senate approves DATA Act standardizing elections information statewide

The proposal, known as the DATA Act, grew out of a report commissioned by the Trump-aligned America First Policy Institute.

  • By Nick Evans, Ohio Capital Journal

How feds think data can buy time for people suffering a financial shock

Financial assistance programs need to respond quickly to be effective. The vast troves of government data offer opportunities to shave down that time.

  • By Aaron Boyd

How agencies can clean up criminal records to automate expungement

Automatic record clearance is a growing priority for states as criminal records delay individuals’ ability to reenter society and fill open job slots.

  • By Kaitlyn Levinson

One city’s growing opioid crisis brings data-driven solutions to the front lines

Two decades of overdose data helps the Baltimore City Health Department understand drug use trends to shape treatment programs.

  • By Kaitlyn Levinson

Virginia joins Republican states pulling out of multi-state voter list program

Once a founding member of the Electronic Registration Information Center, a nationwide data-sharing initiative to maintain voter roll accuracy, Virginia plans to leave the organization and establish its own maintenance system.

  • By Graham Moomaw, Virginia Mercury