Abstract

A strong and flexible National Statistical Organization infrastructure is essential for building evidence necessary for informed decision-making. This panel will highlight the ways in which the decentralized national statistical systems in the United States has evolved to address the increasing need for cross-agency collaboration to support evidence-building for policymaking, using the quick pivots adopted to address data needs during the COVID-19 pandemic as an example of the benefits of regular infrastructure investments. These lessons can inform actions to increase cross-national evidence-building collaborations.
Statistical Agencies and Units within the decentralized U.S. statistical system have varied data collection programs. In the last two decades, the U.S. has adopted legislation to facilitate data sharing across statistical agencies and units, for statistical and programmatic purposes. Building on that collaborative approach, agencies and units have introduced new flexibilities in recent years, centered on maximizing the utility of their data for statistical research and evidence-building purposes by researchers within and outside the government.
Since the adoption of the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018, U.S. statistical agencies and units have increased their collaborations to further expand access to data for evidence-building, building on flexibilities introduced in the preceding decades. Together, these flexibilities have enabled the U.S. statistical system to rapidly pivot to a remote-access model for data analysis in response to the COVID-19 crisis and develop and launch surveys to measure the impact of the pandemic on individuals and businesses.
Opportunities for cross-agency collaboration and learning abound. Highlighting the ways in which U.S. statistical organizations have introduced flexibilities for evidence-building facilitates the future adoption of cross-national collaborations.