2026 unConference Summary
The federal statistical system, which produces essential public data, has been struggling with budget constraints for several years. However, data system risks have increased dramatically in the past year and a half. Urgent and emergent threats include cuts to staffing and contracts, data removals, revisions to data collections, data terminations, threats to data privacy protections, and delays and missed deadlines in the publication of key information.
The Association of Public Data Users (APDU) unConference brought together researchers, policy advocates, government officials, and data practitioners to address emerging challenges and opportunities across the federal statistical ecosystem.
Ahead of the event, attendees suggested and voted on breakout discussion topics, which are listed below:
- Public Data Are Public, Accessible, and Fit-for-Purpose
- Privacy and Confidentiality Are Protected
- Ethics & Transparency (every step of the data lifecycle supports ethical data, and public data are transparent)
- Looking Ahead (modernization, AI, and ensuring sustainability)
- Setting a Data Integrity Agenda: How do you prepare when you don’t know what’s next?
- Anything Goes / What do you want to chat about today?
Although the breakout discussions varied widely across topics, there were several recurring themes. Those are described immediately below. This document also includes a more thorough summary of each of the breakout discussions. Breakout summaries are not verbatim nor necessarily in the order in which topics were discussed. APDU Board members and volunteers began with detailed meeting notes, then edited for clarity and flow.
Across all breakout sessions, participants emphasized that public data is an essential civic asset—vital for evidence-based policymaking, resource allocation, and community advocacy. However, discussions revealed an ecosystem facing unprecedented structural strains, regulatory shifts, workforce attrition, and technological disruptions. Key themes include:
- Threats to Data Quality, Accessibility, and Integrity
- Norms vs. Statutory Guardrails
- Communications Barriers
- Opportunities and Pitfalls of Artificial Intelligence
- Navigating the Tension Between Statistical Privacy and Data Utility
- State-Level Resilience Matters
- Looking Forwards, Responsible Modernization, and a “Project 2029”
These are described in more detail in the report.