CNSTAT Releases Report on a 21st Century National Data Infrastructure

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) Committee on National Statistics (CNSTAT) recently released the report Toward a 21^st Century National Data Infrastructure: Mobilizing Information for the Common Good. The report offers an ambitious vision and roadmap for bringing the U.S. data infrastructure in line with the nation’s need for reliable, accessible statistics and social and economic research. During a recent seminar celebrating CNSTAT’s 50^th anniversary, CNSTAT Chair Robert Groves of Georgetown University offered additional context for the report, noting the convergence of increasing survey costs, all-time low response rates, and the unprecedented amount of digital data now available across the globe. These factors, offered Groves, call for a new culture of data collection and a national data infrastructure that will allow for blending of data from sources of all kinds. CNSTAT has created an interactive website where you can peruse the report and its recommendations.