Data Foundation begins work on national data strategy

The nonprofit group plans a public discussion draft this fall to update federal data policies for artificial intelligence.

The Data Foundation announced an initiative on September 1, 2026, to draft a national data strategy designed to guide public data governance and infrastructure across the United States over the next decade.¹

The effort seeks to build upon the 2019 Federal Data Strategy by accounting for the expanded role of artificial intelligence, which the organization stated has altered the value of and operational demands placed on public data assets.¹

The planning process begins in September with a formal convening of current and former federal officials, state leaders, artificial intelligence researchers, statisticians, program evaluation specialists, privacy legal scholars, technology firms, philanthropies, and nonprofit policy groups.¹ The Data Foundation stated that rather than publishing an immediate final report, the working group will assemble an open discussion draft outlining a shared model for American data infrastructure.¹

“The 2019 strategy was an important first step, but it was built for a different moment,” Nick Hart, president and chief executive officer of the Data Foundation, said in a statement accompanying the announcement.¹ “New state leadership, private and philanthropic investment, and public expectations around privacy and transparency have all reshaped what's possible and what's needed. It's time to move beyond a federal strategy to a national one that reflects how data infrastructure actually gets built and used today.”¹

Shifting from federal rules to national coordination

The earlier 2019 Federal Data Strategy established a ten-year vision focused primarily on federal agency practices, including data stewardship, access principles, and agency accountability. The Data Foundation argued that the practical requirements of data management now extend well past federal boundaries, requiring coordination among multiple levels of government and outside institutions.

According to the organization, the new framework will attempt to resolve several core governance tradeoffs that have intensified alongside automated data processing. These include the balance between public transparency and individual privacy protections, the alignment of state, local, tribal, and territorial authorities with private-sector partnerships, and the creation of artificial intelligence-ready administrative data systems that remain subject to rigorous programmatic evaluation.¹

“Few organizations are positioned to lead this effort,” Ron Vassallo, vice chair of the board of directors for the Data Foundation, said in the announcement.¹ “The Data Foundation, alongside our membership community, helped shape the original Federal Data Strategy and spent the past decade serving as a trusted, nonpartisan convener at the intersection of data policy, evidence, statistics, technology, and governance.”¹

Public comment and policy focus

The organization plans to release details regarding the formal public comment window and broader stakeholder engagement sessions in the fall of 2026.¹ Feedback gathered during that review period will be used to revise the initial discussion text into a finished framework.

Operational research for the project will run through the Data Foundation's Center for Data Policy.¹ That unit concentrates on statutory and regulatory structures governing data collection, administrative management, cross-sector interoperability standards, and privacy compliance across public agencies and commercial entities.¹

Reporting note: this piece draws on public statements and organizational disclosures issued September 1, 2026, by the Data Foundation regarding its national data strategy initiative.

Source: Data Foundation via EIN Presswire, September 1, 2026

References

This article is based on 1 source, listed in the order they are cited.

1. 1 EP EIN Presswire announcement · 1 Sep 2026 Data Foundation Launches Community-Led National Data Strategy to Define a Shared Vision for America’s Data See the source