Kshemendra Paul, chief data officer at the Department of Veterans Affairs, said new data usage laws have reduced the amount of unused information in agencies, FCW reported Monday.
This development addresses the barrier between unused information and systems that might be in need of isolated data. The Open, Public, Electronic and Necessary Government Data Act directs agencies to appoint a CDO to oversee data-related activities. This law and the Foundations for Evidence Based Policymaking Act aim to promote the transparency, modernization and informative use of public data.
"All too often data ends up in programmatic stovepipes, and it's not managed so you end up with data rot,” Paul said at an event with the Association of Government Accountants. “Key to the CDO role is the idea that now there's a senior agency official that's looking at data across its lifecycle,” he added.
VA’s data activities include analysis for the department’s policy and budgeting activities.
