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Communicating Data
Innovate. Integrate. Collaborate.
DAY 1 – SEPTEMBER 13, 2017
8:00 am – 8:45 am Breakfast and Registration
Plenary Session
8:45 am – 9:00 am Welcome and Introduction
Introduction: Cliff Cook, President, Association of Public Data Users
Plenary Session
9:00 am – 10:00 am Role of Commercial Firms in Public Data
Integrating private data and collaborating with commercial firms represents a new frontier for public data. Speakers will share current innovative practice and partnerships and the benefits to the data users and the publisher. They will also discuss strategies for encouraging more actors in the private sector to explore opportunities in creating value by collaborating with public data partners.
Moderator: Kathy Pettit, Senior Research Associate, Urban Institute
- Michael Dalton, Research Economist, Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Aaron Terrazas, Principal Economist, Zillow
- Stefaan Verhurlst, Co-Founder and Chief Research and Development Officer, NYU GovLab
Plenary Session
10:00 – 10:30 am Keynote – Nancy Potok, Chief Statistician of the United States, Office of Management and Budget (PDF Presentation)
“Priorities of the Federal Statistical System”
Introduction: Cliff Cook, President, Association of Public Data Users
10:30 am – 11:00 am Exhibit Hall Break
Breakout Sessions
11:00 am – 12:15 pm
- Integrate
Public Concerns About Privacy in the Use of Administrative Records
The Census Bureau is expanding the use of administrative records on businesses and persons. The public benefits because it helps to improve data collection and reduce respondent burden. How do the subjects of this data view privacy and security when administrative records are used for statistical purposes?
Moderator: Jennifer Childs, Research Psychologist, Census Bureau
- Casey Eggleston, Mathematical Statistician, Census Bureau (PDF Presentation)
- Aleia Fobia, Research Sociologist, Census Bureau (PDF Presentation)
- Alfred D. Tuttle, Statistician, Census Bureau (PDF Presentation)
- Innovate
Innovations in Linking Survey and Administrative Data
Until recent years, government agencies such as HUD, NCHS, and HHS conducted surveys to meet their own special purposes. As we understand the opportunities for bringing data together across agencies, disparate sources can now be used to create greater value to the public in the form of new data sets and innovative research activities that can contribute to more informed policy making. This session focuses on recent efforts to integrate data in different Federal agencies through surveys and administrative efforts, the technical innovations that have enabled such efforts, the essential role of partnerships and community engagement, and the challenges posed by organizational, legal and privacy issues. The session will also highlight innovative approaches to data integration efforts between national health care surveys and cancer clinical trial data that serve to enhance analytic capacity and inform healthcare policy and practice.
Moderator: Katherine Hempstead, Senior Advisor, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
- Steven Cohen, Vice President, Statistics and Data Science, RTI International (PDF Presentation)
- David Handelsman, Vice President, Development, Project Data Sphere (PDF Presentation)
- Patricia C. Lloyd, Health Statistician, National Center for Health Statistics (PDF Presentation)
- Jon Sperling, Manager, Geographic Information Analysis, Department of Housing and Urban Development
- Communicate
How Data is Used to Build Evidence for Policymaking (PDF Presentation)
With its final report to Congress scheduled for imminent release, key leaders from the Commission on Evidence-based Policymaking will discuss the findings and recommendations under consideration. The panel will examine the strategies and activities that APDU’s network will want to take on to implement the most relevant recommendations.
Moderator: Lucas Hitt, Deputy Executive Director, U.S. Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking
- Katharine Abraham, Member and Chairperson, U.S. Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking
- Sandy Davis, Senior Advisor, Bipartisan Policy Center
- Ron Haskins, Member and Co-chair, U.S. Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking
- John Thompson, Director, Council of Professional Associations on Federal Statistics (COPAFS)
12:15 – 1:00 pm Networking Lunch
Plenary Session
1:00 pm – 1:45 pm Federal Statistical Agency Leadership Panel (An APDU Public Data University Presentation)
Interview-format panel with heads of several major federal statistical agencies. These leaders will discuss innovation in an era of uncertainty.
Moderator: Ken Poole, Chief Executive Officer, Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness
- Brian Moyer, Director, Bureau of Economic Analysis
- Charles Rothwell, Director, National Center for Health Statistics
- William Wiatrowski, Deputy Commissioner, Bureau of Labor Statistics
1:45 pm – 2:15 pm Exhibit Hall Break
Breakout Sessions
2:15 pm – 3:30 pm
- Integrate
Applied Uses of Integrated Administrative Data – State and Local Initiatives
State and local policy makers typically employ a range of data sources to analyze problems and evaluation programs. Increasingly, public agencies and non-profits are seeking ways to link data across using public and administrative data to create greater value in analyzing policies and evaluating programs. What are some of the key issues that data scientists face in bringing data sets together and how can this information be used to empower the policymakers?
Moderator: Cliff Cook, President, Association of Public Data Users
- Katie Buitrago, Director, Social IMPACT Research Center (PDF Presentation)
- Erik Hovland, Economic and Statistical Analyst, Fairfax County, VA (PDF Presentation)
- Kimberly Korejko, Data Coordination Manager, Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) (PDF Presentation)
- Innovate
Innovative Approaches to Understanding Our Most Pressing Public Policy Issues: Lessons in Education and Opportunity
Finding a way to understand complex policy issues by using quantitative data requires innovation and dedicated resources. Hear from three exceptional voices from progressive national think tanks and foundations about their pioneering research and related recommendations for addressing many pressing research and data issues. The panel will discuss innovative methodologies that rely on publicly accessible data, as well as the materials produced by these initiatives to help practitioners and advocates monitor progress in actionable solutions to some of our most urgent policy problems.
Moderator: Elizabeth Nash, Director of Data and Product Development, PolicyMap
- Courtney Brown, Vice President, Strategic Impact, Lumina Foundation (PDF Presentation)
- Laura Speer, Associate Director Policy Reform and Advocacy, Annie E. Casey Foundation (PDF Presentation)
- Jennifer Thornton, Manager, Data as a Strategic Asset, Pew Charitable Trusts (PDF Presentation)
- Communicate
Innovations in Data Visualization
From identifying data anomalies to delivering key conclusions, the art of data visualization is invaluable at all stages of analysis. In this session, three presenters will discuss their data visualization best practices and applications, and showcase how they have used data visualizations to improve their programs and solve critical data issues. Guests are encouraged to bring questions for an open thirty-minute Q&A.
Moderator: Kevin McAvey, Senior Manager, Manatt Health
- Michael Crow, Chief Data Illuminator, Crow Insight, LLC (PDF Presentation)
- Kimberly Hauge, Policy Analyst, Economic Opportunity, National Governors Association (PDF Presentation)
- Jonathan Porat, Regulatory Economist, SBA Office of Advocacy (PDF Presentation)
3:30 pm – 4:00 pm Exhibit Hall Break
Plenary Panel Discussion
4:00 pm – 5:00 pm The Case for Enterprise Data Management Leadership in the Federal Government
Moderator: Ken Poole, Chief Executive Officer, Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness
- Peter Aiken, Founding Director and Owner, Data BluePrint
- Gary Yakimov, Chief, Judiciary Data and Analysis, Administrative Office of the United States Courts
This session will describe the field of practice for enterprise data leaders (who serve the function of their agency’s ‘Chief Data Officers’) in both the public and private sector, including an update on various efforts to create a “field of practice” and “career paths” for data management and data strategy leaders across the federal government. Participants will also learn about tools and techniques available to them today to help better lead enterprise data management efforts in their agencies.
DAY 2 – SEPTEMBER 14, 2017
8:30 am – 9:30 am Breakfast
Plenary Session
9:00 am – 9:45 am Washington Briefing
APDU has been working with many other organizations to educate policymakers on Capitol Hill and in the agencies about user needs, the critical challenges facing federal statistics, and the resources the agencies require to respond. Learn more about the current challenges, our advocacy network and its efforts, and plans for 2018.
Moderator: Mary Jo Hoeksema, Director, Government and Public Affairs, Population Association of America/Association of Population Centers
- Howard Fienberg, Director of Government Affairs, Insights Association
- Dale Oak, President, Oak Federal Solutions
Plenary Session
9:45 am – 10:15 am #IgniteAPDU Talks (An APDU Public Data University Presentation) (PDF Presentation)
Learn about hot topics and the latest trends in these lightning talks from a variety of speakers.
Moderator: Kevin McAvey, Senior Manager, Manatt Health
- Monica King, Director, Administrative Data Research Facilities (ADRF) Network, Actionable Intelligence for Social Policy
- Ari Lamstein, Owner, Lamstein Consulting
- Mark Mather, Associate Vice President, U.S. Programs, Population Reference Bureau
- Jonathan Ortiz, Data Scientist + Knowledge Engineer, data.world
- R. Chase Sawyer, Survey Statistician, Census Bureau
10:15 am – 10:45 am Exhibit Hall Break
Breakout Sessions
10:45 am – 12:00 pm
- Integrate
Data Integration to Improve Program Effectiveness
The discussion panel will explore how Federal agencies use administrative data in a variety of ways to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of their policies and programs. The panel will discuss why the agencies use administrative data for evaluation and research as well as the benefits and challenges of using these administrative data for their research. The presenters will focus on ways they resolved seemingly intractable challenges and the lessons that provides for others. The panel will highlight the agencies’ specific efforts in recent years to incorporate administrative data into program evaluation and research.
Moderator: Anthony Curcio, Principal, Summit LLC
- Rebecca Bilbro, Partner and Faculty, District Data Labs
- Molly Irwin, Chief Evaluation Officer, Department of Labor (DOL)
- Mike Willis, Assistant Director in the Division of Economic and Risk Analysis, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
- Innovate
New (Innovative) Tools and Techniques to Empower Policymakers and the Public
This session showcases techniques that integrate data to empower policymakers and the public: A text-mining tool converts legal text into data for extracting insights from the enormous corpus of federal regulations, a new econometric model assessing the economic capacities of program grants and their long-term outcomes, and an innovative data system that uses a discoverable and downloadable web-based database.
Moderator: Sarah Burgoyne, Senior Demographer, Claritas
- Michelle Riordan-Nold, Executive Director, CT Data Collaborative (PDF Presentation)
- Laura Ross, Senior Research Analyst, SRI International (PDF Presentation)
- Richard Schwinn, Research Economist, Small Business Administration (PDF Presentation)
- Communicate
Enhancing Data Literacy
Now more than ever, there is a huge amount of data made readily available to the public. Talking the “data language” and knowing where to search for the data you are looking for however is not easy. Join us for a discussion by data providers and data users who are tackling this issue head on by trying to help users become more knowledgeable about the data at their fingertips. The session focuses on how to teach people about data so they are more ‘data literate.
Moderator: Mauricio Ortiz, Chief, Regional Income Division, Bureau of Economic Analysis
- Daniel Gillman, Information Scientist, Bureau of Labor Statistics (PDF Presentation)
- Rachel Leventhal-Weiner, Data Engagement Specialist, Connecticut Data Collaborative (PDF Presentation)
- Laurie Sheldon, Adjunct Lecturer/Graduate Student, University of Arizona (PDF Presentation)
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm Networking Lunch
Plenary Session
1:00 pm – 1:30 pm Keynote – Sarah Cohen, Assistant Editor for Computer-Assisted Reporting, New York Times
“Public Data for the People: Data Journalism’s Vital Role In Telling the Important Stories”
Introduction: Elizabeth Nash, Director of Data and Product Development, PolicyMap
1:30 pm – 2:00 pm Exhibit Hall Break
Plenary Session
2:00 pm – 3:00 pm Public Data University Presents: The 2017 Data Viz Awards
Moderator: Kevin McAvey, Senior Manager, Manatt Health
- Mike Crow, Chief Data Illuminator, Crow Insight (PDF Presentation)
- Lori Fields, Visual Information Specialist, USDA Economic Research Service (PDF Presentation)
- Terri Friedline, Assistant Professor, Institute for Policy & Social Research, University of Kansas (PDF Presentation)
- Claudia Hitaj, Economist, USDA Economic Research Service (PDF Presentation)
- Amanda Myers, Acting Deputy Chief Economist, US Patent and Trademark Office (PDF Presentation)
Plenary Session
3:00 pm – 4:00 pm Census Bureau – Today and Tomorrow
Census 2020 is top of mind for many, and this session will focus on progress and the challenges. The session will also provide an update on where the Bureau stands in presenting data through data.Census.gov as a replacement for American FactFinder. With FY2018 beginning October 1, how will Census address the mammoth challenge of accomplishing the decennial census while maintaining the other surveys that we all rely on?
Introduction: Cliff Cook, President, Association of Public Data Users
Lisa Blumerman, Associate Director for Decennial Census Programs, Census Bureau
4:00 pm Conference adjourns