Agenda – 2018 Annual Conference

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Day 1

8:00 am – 8:45 am  Registration  & Breakfast

  Room: Pentagon Ballroom Foyer

8:45 am – 9:00 am  Welcome Address

  Room: Pentagon Ballroom

Speaker:

Cliff Cook, Senior Planning Information Manager, City of Cambridge (MA)

9:00 am – 10:00 am   The Future of Evidence-based Policymaking

  Room: Pentagon Ballroom

Congress demonstrated the bipartisan appeal of evidence-based policymaking with the passage of Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act in November 2017.  Will the Senate take this legislation up?  What other legislative action is in the works?  Meanwhile, what have the agencies been doing to respond to the 2017 Commission on Evidence-based Policy work?  Learn more about how this initiative may dramatically change the landscape for public data users.

Moderator:

Kevin McAvey, Senior Manager, Manatt Health

Speakers:

  • Nick Hart, Director, Evidence-Based Policymaking Initiative, Bipartisan Policy Center
  • Nancy Potok, Chief Statistician of the United States, US Office of Management and Budget

10:00 am – 10:30 am  Data Agency Headliners

  Room: Pentagon Ballroom

Meet the leaders from several major federal statistical agencies. These leaders will discuss the future of public data in an era of uncertainty.

Moderator:

Ken Poole, Chief Executive Officer, Executive Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness

Speakers:

  • Mary Bohman, Administrator, USDA Economic Research Service
  • Bill Wiatrowski, Acting Commissioner, Bureau of Labor Statistics

10:30 am – 11:00 am  Exhibit Hall Networking Break

  Room: Pentagon Ballroom Foyer

Breakout Sessions

11:00 am – 12:15 pm  Realizing – Making Connections: Linking Data to Solve Public Problems

  Room: Pentagon Ballroom

Private and administrative data can supplement or enhance nationally collected public data. How are different organizations building new datasets by linking them to available public data to solve important problems? How can we improve the ways we provide, share and utilize data in the policy-making context?

Moderator:

Pratima Damani, Chief Executive Officer, SP Group

Speakers:

  • Jim Demarke, Senior Data Engineer, Experian (PDF)
  • Aaron Klein, Former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy, US Department of the Treasury (PDF)
  • Patrick McGarry, Head of Community, data.world (PDF)

11:00 am – 12:15 pm  Deploying – Lessons from the Data Visualization Process

  Room: Eisenhower A

Images are quickly replacing data tables and narrative to summarize data in meaningful ways.  Done effectively, they can capture the public’s imagination in understanding information and shaping decisions. What are good strategies for developing new visualizations?  This session will examine various aspects of the process: identifying appropriate analytic techniques, examining both public need and policy objectives, preparing data, using alternative methods and tools including Tableau, and conducting user outreach.

Moderator: Cliff Cook, Senior Planning Information Manager, City of Cambridge (MA)

Speakers:

  • Sam Keathley, Workforce Research Analyst, Kentucky Center for Statistics (KYSTATS) (PDF)
  • Annemarie Kuhns, Economist, USDA Economic Research Service (PDF)
  • Devin McGhee, Data Scientist, Kentucky Center for Statistics (KYSTATS) (PDF)

11:00 am – 12:15 pm  Navigating – Building a Platform to Present Data: Lessons from a Tool to   Monitor Children’s Health and Well-Being

  Room: Eisenhower B

(Presentation)

Rigorous information can drive policymaking in many areas, including efforts to improve children’s health and well-being. California has a comprehensive platform (Kidsdata.org) of facts to facilitate action towards healthy and well children. The resource combines more than 35 trusted public data sources with some 600 measures of child health and well-being.  How was this tool pulled together, and what can it teach others creating similar platforms.

Moderator:

Mauricio Ortiz, Economist, Bureau of Economic Analysis

Speakers:

  • Beth Jarosz, Senior Research Associate, Population Reference Bureau
  • Samantha Sangenito, Data Science and Sustainability Lead, ACEs Connection
  • Lori Turk-Bicakci, Senior Manager, Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health

12:15 pm – 1:45 pm  Networking Lunch and Keynote Plenary

  Room: Pentagon Ballroom

(Presentation)

Moderator:

Kevin McAvey, Senior Manager, Manatt Health 

  Speaker:

Chris Hooton, Chief Economist, Internet Association

1:45 pm – 2:15 pm  Exhibit Hall Networking Break

  Room: Pentagon Ballroom Foyer

Breakout Sessions

2:15 pm – 3:30 pm  Realizing – Preserving ‘Born-digital’ Public Data:  A Key Role for Librarians

  Room: Stars & Stripes

(Presentation)

Data stewards – producers, data centers, and archivists – have grappled for decades with the challenges of preserving and providing access to born-digital government information.  Librarians have been at the center of this effort, creating new partnerships and developing new practices to ensure continued access to public data that may not be archived systematically.  Librarians from universities across the country will talk about their successes and challenges in this fight.

Moderator:

Shari Laster, Head, Open Stacks, Arizona State University

Speakers:

  • Deborah Caldwell, Graduate Research Assistant, The PEGI Project, University of North Texas
  • James Jacobs, US Government Information Librarian, Stanford University
  • Margaret Janz, Data Curation Librarian, University of Pennsylvania

2:15 pm – 3:30 pm  Deploying – Innovations in Indicators in Housing, Consumer Credit, Labor   Markets

  Room: Eisenhower A

People across sectors are developing creative indicators and tools that deliver new insights for more informed decision-making at the local and national levels. Three presenters will describe projects that are breaking new ground in the areas of consumer credit, community development, and labor markets. Learn about creative strategies being used to develop indexes that can provide users with new ways of understanding available public data.

Moderator:

Kathy Pettit, Senior Research Associate, Urban Institute

Speakers:

  • Cheryl Cooper, Program Lead, Household Balance Sheet Research Agenda, Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (PDF)
  • Justin Fleming, Director of Real Estate, Cleveland Neighborhood Progress (PDF)
  • Brad Hershbein, Economist, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research (PDF)

2:15 pm – 3:30 pm  Navigating – Communicating about Privacy Concerns Around Public Data

  Room: Eisenhower B

A primary concern around public data involves privacy and ethical concerns. How can we responsibly improve data accessibility while accounting for these issues?  Experts will discuss lessons learned and best practices for communicating about privacy and building trust in public data.

Moderator:

Della Jenkins, Executive Director, Actionable Intelligence for Social Policy (AISP), University of Pennsylvania

Speakers:

  • Kelsey Finch, Senior Counsel, Future of Privacy Forum (PDF)
  • Rachel Anderson, Director, Policy and Practice, Data Quality Campaign (PDF)

3:30 pm – 3:45 pm  Exhibit Hall Networking Break

  Room: Pentagon Ballroom Foyer

3:45 pm – 4:30 pm  Public Data University Presents: The 2018 Data Viz Awards

  Room: Pentagon Ballroom

Award winners will provide a brief overview of their award-winning projects.  Identify creative approaches that others have used to visualize their data.  Discover innovative ideas that you can adopt and make your own.

Moderator:

Ron Nakao, Economics, Data and Computational Social Science Librarian, Center for Interdisciplinary Digital Research (CIDR), Stanford University Libraries

Speakers:

  • Sue King, Public Affairs Director, USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (PDF)
  • Cheryl Knott, GIS Project Manager, Baltimore Neighborhood Indicators Alliance (PDF)
  • Mark Mather, Associate Vice President, Population Reference Bureau (PDF)
  • Steven Romalewski, Director, CUNY Mapping Service, Center for Urban Research at The Graduate Center (PDF)

4:30 pm – 6:00 pm  Happy Hour – Networking Event

  Room: Pentagon Ballroom Foyer

 

 

Day 2

8:30 am – 9:30 am  Registration  & Breakfast

  Room: Pentagon Ballroom Foyer

9:00 am – 9:45 am  Washington Briefing Plenary

  Room: Pentagon Ballroom

(Presentation)

Learn more about the issues and challenges facing key federal statistical programs (e.g., Census, BLS, BEA, NCHS, and others). This session will also examine key concerns among stakeholders and how to talk about them to political leaders and other decision makers.

Moderator:

Mary Jo Hoeksema, Director of Government and Public Affairs, Population Association of America

Speaker:

James Dyer, Senior Advisor, Baker Donelson

9:45 am – 10:15 am  Building the Case for Public Statistics – Understanding How Legislators Make   Policy and Budget Decisions Workshop Part 1

Room: MacArthur

(Presentation)

Data advocates have limited time and so do policymakers. How do data users educate policymakers as efficiently as possible?  What is legislative decision-making process, and when are interactions with decision makers most likely to have an impact?  This session provides a primer on the federal budget appropriations process and insights about how congressional offices process information.

Instructor: Dale Oak, President, Oak Federal Solutions

9:45 am – 10:15 am  #IgniteAPDU Talks (An APDU Public Data University Presentation)

  Room: Pentagon Ballroom

Learn about hot trends and topics through 5-minute presentations from conference participants.

Moderator:

Kathy Pettit, Senior Research Associate, Urban Institute

Speakers:

  • Ally Burleson Gibson, Survey Statistician, US Census Bureau (PDF)
  • Adam Grundy, Section Chief, US Census Bureau (PDF)
  • Mehdi Hashemipour, Data Scientist, US Department of Transportation (PDF)
  • Laura McKieran, Executive Director, CI:Now (PDF)
  • Teresa White, Public Affairs Specialist, USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (PDF)

10:15 am – 10:45 am  Exhibit Hall Networking Break

  Room: Pentagon Ballroom Foyer

Breakout Sessions

10:45 am – 12:00 pm  Building the Case for Public Statistics – Engaging Allies for Public Data Part 2

  Room: MacArthur

(Presentation)

How can engaging a coalition of grass roots supporters help to nurture policy champions in both the legislative and executive branches? This session will provide a hands-on learning opportunity for stakeholders seeking to communicate with one voice to policy leaders about the value of public statistics.

Instructor:

Emily Holubowich, Senior Vice President, CRD Associates

10:45 am – 12:00 pm  Realizing – Best Practices in Linking Administrative and Survey Data for   Policymaking

  Room: Eisenhower A

Linking administrative and survey data can create powerful new insights that drive public policy measures. In this session, speakers will report on unique projects underway for Health and Human Services, Census Bureau, National Science Foundation and Small Business Administration that illustrate how to overcome barriers to linking administrative and survey data to drive policymaking.

Moderator:

Warren Brown, Research Faculty, Cornell Institute for Social and Economic Research (CISER)

Speakers:

  • Ashley Austin, Program Analyst, US Census Bureau
  • Scott Boggess, Chief, Evidence Building Staff, US Census Bureau (PDF)
  • Richard Hendra, Senior Research Associate, MDRC (PDF)
  • Andrew Reamer, Research Professor, GW Institute of Public Policy (PDF)

10:45 am – 12:00 pm  Deploying – Lessons from Leveraging Available Data to Enhance a   National Household Survey

  Room: Eisenhower B

Survey managers are increasingly using external data to enrich their results.  One example is the National Household Food Acquisition and Purchase Survey (FoodAPS), an ambitious survey of food purchases and acquisitions.  What can you learn from this effort about creating linkages that enhance data collection, data analysis, and predictive capabilities?

Moderator: Mark Denbaly, Deputy Director for Food Economics Data, USDA Economic Research Service (PDF)

Speakers:

  • John Kirlin, President, Kirlin Analytic Services (PDF)
  • Elina Page, Economist, USDA Economic Research Service (PDF)
  • Xingyou Zhang, Mathematical Statistician, USDA Economic Research Service (PDF)

10:45 am – 12:00 pm  Navigating – Comparing Federal, State, and Private-sector Data Production   and Governance Approaches

  Room: Stars & Stripes

Data collection and aggregation is happening in a wide variety of environments; federal, state, and private sector actors are creating new datasets – by merging surveys, aggregating data sets, and developing new avenues for data access. Learn more about how different actors are addressing these issues, using both similar and different approaches based on their respective values and priorities.

Moderator:

Sue Copella, Director, The Pennsylvania State Data Center

Speakers:

  • Collin McCarter, Data Scientist, Nielsen (PDF)
  • Patrice Norman, Branch Chief Island Areas and Business Owners, US Census Bureau
  • Michelle Riordan-Nold, Executive Director, CT Data Collaborative (PDF)

12:00 pm – 1:30 pm  Networking Lunch and Keynote Panel: Reorganizing Federal Data Agencies

  Room: Pentagon Ballroom

  Moderator: Ken Poole, Chief Executive Officer, Center for Regional Economic   Competitiveness

Speakers:

  • Erica Groshen, Visiting Senior Scholar, Cornell University
  • Nancy Potok, Chief Statistician of the United States, Office of Management and Budget
  • John Thompson, Executive Director, Council of Professional Associations on Federal Statistics

1:30 pm – 2:00 pm  Exhibit Hall Networking Break

  Room: Pentagon Ballroom Foyer

Breakout Sessions

2:00 pm – 3:15 pm  Building the Case for Public Statistics – Creating an Effective Communications   Strategy Part 3

  Room: MacArthur

(Presentation)

Even the Census, the largest of the statistical agencies, rarely get attention outside of a small circle.  That’s because statistical programs are relatively small agencies when compared with domestic program agencies.  This session participants with hands-on experience in developing messages for policymakers.  With the help from expert facilitators, participants will work with peers to create messages about problems that data helps to solve or questions it helps to answer in a safe environment that allows for critiques about what makes the message compelling.

Instructor:

Mary Jo Hoeksema, Director of Government and Public Affairs, Population Association of America 

2:00 pm – 3:15 pm   Realizing – How Administrative Data are Used to Inform Decisions

  Room: Eisenhower A

This panel will explore how states, academic institutions and the Census Bureau are linking, aggregating, and using administrative records. How is this new data being used to support research that influences policymaking and solves public problems? How are emerging new integrated data systems, data intermediaries and chief data officers stepping up to improve data governance and management? What challenges and related solutions are these intermediaries finding as they increase the use of administrative data?

Moderator:

Warren Brown, Cornell Institute for Social and Economic Research (CISER)

Speakers:

  • Sandra Clark, Survey Statistician, US Census Bureau (PDF)
  • Amber Ivey, Senior Associate, Pew Charitable Trusts (PDF)
  • Della Jenkins, Executive Director, Actionable Intelligence for Social Policy (AISP) (PDF)

2:00 pm – 3:15 pm   Deploying – How New Policy Approaches Can Redefine Data Needs: An   Example from State Health Spending

  Room: Eisenhower B

(Presentation)

Optimizing healthcare spending is a task that is top of mind for many policy makers and program administrators as policy shifts to states, budgets tighten, and leaders strive to accomplish more with less. At the state level, data advocates have been making progress through a variety of different approaches. This session will highlight on the ground efforts from a variety of perspectives to collect and analyze data for healthcare value-based purchasing initiatives.  Speakers will discuss case studies that illustrate the ways in which data was used to optimize spending and improve patient care.

Moderator:

Anthony Curcio, Partner, Summit Consulting LLC

Speakers:

  • Nora Hoban, Senior Vice President, Maryland Hospital Association
  • Donald Nichols, Managing Researcher, American Institutes for Research
  • Emily Sullivan, Deputy Director, National Association of Health Data Organizations

2:00 pm – 3:15 pm  Navigating – Innovative Uses of Administrative Records:  The TANF Data   Innovations Project

  Room: Stars & Stripes

The TANF Data Innovations (TDI) project supports use of administrative records data to improve program performance. TDI aims to have a lasting impact on evidence-based policy by supporting modern approaches to data integration and analysis. The project will catalog and assist states’ efforts at data-driven program improvement in TANF and across the human services sector. What lessons can be learned for other policy areas?

Moderator:

Nick Hart, Director, Evidence-Based Policymaking Initiative, Bipartisan Policy Center

Speakers:

  • Dennis Culhane, Professor, University of Pennsylvania
  • Robert Goerge, Senior Research Fellow, Chapin Hall (PDF)
  • Richard Hendra, Senior Research Associate, MDRC (PDF)
  • Julia Lane, Professor and Provostial Fellow, New York University (PDF)

3:15 pm – 4:00 pm  Shaping the Future of Census Plenary Session

  Room: Pentagon Ballroom

The Census Bureau has been headline grabbing in 2018. The end-to-end pilot test, debate over future budgets, the Economic Census delays, and the ruckus over a new question.  Learn from Census leadership about how the Census Bureau is managing in a time of uncertainty while also leading the way in shaping the future of federal statistics.

Moderator:

Ken Poole, Chief Executive Officer, Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness

Speaker:

Enrique Lamas, Performing the non-exclusive duties and functions of the Deputy Director and Chief Operating Officer, US Census Bureau

4:00 pm  Conference adjourns