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Federal Government Spending: Less Transparency in a World of Open Data
May 1, 2013
1:00 PM – 2:00 PM EDT
Register
Becky Sweger joins us from the National Priorities Project, a national non-profit, non-partisan research organization dedicated to making complex federal budget information transparent and accessible. She’ll give us an “in-the-weeds” look at the realities of using open government data, especially for organizations who are used to getting data prepared and packaged by government agencies. She’ll focus on her experience using the Consolidated Federal Funds report (packaged data) which was replaced by USASpending.gov (open data).
This webinar will review the trade-offs involved when switching from designed data prepared by the Census Bureau to “open” spending or administrative data.
Introduction: Joan Naymark, APDU
Moderator: Virginia Carlson, APDU
Presenter: Becky Sweger, Director of Data & Technology, National Priorities Project
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New Congressional Bill Affects American Community Survey
On April 18, 2013, Congressman Jeffrey Duncan (R-South Carolina) introduced a bill, H.R. 1638, in the U.S. House of Representatives. This bill, also known as the “Census Reform Act of 2013,” would repeal the authority to conduct certain censuses, including the American Community Survey (ACS). Read more here.
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Unleashing the Power of Big Data
Last year, the Obama Administration announced the National Big Data Research and Development Initiative—a major step toward addressing the challenge and opportunity of “Big Data.” As we enter the second year of the Big Data Initiative, the Obama Administration is encouraging multiple stakeholders, including federal agencies, private industry, academia, state and local government, non-profits, and foundations to develop and participate in Big Data initiatives across the country. Of particular interest are partnerships designed to advance core Big Data technologies; harness the power of Big Data to advance national goals such as economic growth, education, health, and clean energy; use competitions and challenges; and foster regional innovation.
The National Science Foundation has issued a request for information encouraging stakeholders to identify Big Data projects they would be willing to support to achieve these goals. Read more here.
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Taking the Pulse of Our Planet: New Strategy for Earth Observations
The Obama Administration’s National Science and Technology Council released a National Strategy for Civil Earth Observations—a framework for increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of the Nation’s Earth-observation enterprise. Currently, 11 Federal departments and agencies engage in Earth observation activities, collecting volumes of important data about the Earth on an ongoing basis, using an array of sophisticated tools and systems. The new Strategy outlines a process for evaluating and prioritizing Earth-observation investments according to their value to society in critical areas such as agriculture, global change, disasters, water resources, and weather. Read more here.
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Using Twitter for Demographic and Social Science Research: Tools for Data Collection
Despite recent interest in using Twitter to examine human behavior and attitudes, little work has been done to develop systematic ways of collecting Twitter data for social science research. Further, gleaning key demographic information about Twitter users, a key component of much social science research, remains a challenge. This Center for Statistics and the Social Sciences Working Paper develops a scalable, sustainable toolkit for social science researchers interested in using Twitter data to examine behaviors and attitudes, as well as the demographic characteristics of the populations expressing or engaging in them. Read more here.
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Big Data, Trying to Build Better Workers
Employers often avoid hiring candidates with a history of job-hopping or those who have been unemployed for a while. The past is prologue, companies assume. There’s one problem, though: the data show that it isn’t so. An applicant’s work history is not a good predictor of future results. These are some of the startling findings of an emerging field called work-force science. It adds a large dose of data analysis, a k a Big Data, to the field of human resource management, which has traditionally relied heavily on gut feel and established practice to guide hiring, promotion and career planning. Read more here.
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Notable Data Publications
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Each week, the APDU Data Update identifies recent statistical data releases of interest to APDU members.
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Did you work on a great report that you want your colleagues to know about? Just email us and we’ll include it here.
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APDU maintains a list of open calls for comment on proposed federal data collections. We periodically alert APDU members to newly added calls for comment. Over the last several weeks, calls for comment on the following proposed data collections were published in the Federal Register (with due date):
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Bureau of Labor Statistics
- National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (May 20, 2013)
- Questionnaire Pretesting Research (June 21, 2013)
Census Bureau
- Quarterly Summary of State and Local Government Tax Revenue (June 24, 2013)
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- National Death Index (June 22, 2013)
Economic Research Service, USDA
- Rural Establishment Innovation Survey (May 24, 2013)
General Services Administration
- USA Spending (June 24, 2013)
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Survey of DWI Courts (May 22, 2013)
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, HHS
- 2014 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (June 24, 2013)
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