Data Sharing in A Changing Federal Landscape: Threats and Evolving Practices for Ethical Administrative Data Use

Session Submission Type: Late-Breaking Roundtable

Abstract

Linking and reusing administrative data for research, evaluation, and policy making has immense benefits. When state and local governments bring together information from across agency silos, they are better equipped to understand the complex needs of individuals, allocate resources to improve services equitably, measure impacts of programs holistically, and engage in transparent, shared decision-making about how data should and should not be used. Data sharing and integration is also not without risks, including risks related to individual privacy and risks of bias and oversurveillance at the community or systems level.  Despite diverse contexts, efforts that seek to leverage integrated data to improve individual and population outcomes face common ethical, relational, legal, and technical considerations. 

The ethical considerations surrounding state and local data sharing are especially urgent in the current moment, with administrative data collected for one purpose reportedly being accessed by the federal government and repurposed for enforcement, surveillance, and other punitive actions. As Executive Order 14243 calls on federal agencies to break down data silos and increase data interoperability, the stakes of ethical data use are rising. The stated purpose of the EO is to support more coordinated and efficient programs, a goal many in the administrative data space have championed for decades. However, the EO also raises critical concerns about how data might be misused beyond their original purpose. High-profile examples of state data being used to support I.C.E. operations erode public trust and jeopardize current and future data-sharing initiatives. For impacted communities, assurances about data being used “just for research” may feel hollow amid mounting and well-founded fears that data could be weaponized against them. Ethical data sharing cannot be separated from these broader realities. State and local governments and their research partners must weigh not only what is legally permissible, but also what is contextually responsible and community-informed.

This late-breaking roundtable puts researchers from within and outside government in conversation about the current moment and rapidly-evolving landscape. Panelist experiences and expertise include:

• A national leader in data analytics with experience in program evaluation and large scale initiatives to integrate federal data systems 


• A leader from a state government agency who facilitates a nationally-recognized, data-driven community collaboration on economic justice


• A data modernization lead for a large local government agency focused on administrative data partnerships to improve public health

Panelists will discuss both opportunities and concerns, including the ripple effects of federal data requests, the impacts of staffing cuts on federal data capacity, the independence of federal statistical agencies, and implications for public trust in state and local efforts. The roundtable will also explore the role of researchers and research partnerships in this changing ecosystem. Attendees will be engaged to discuss questions and implications from their work, with the goal of developing strategies to improve data governance, data security, and deliberative decision-making about data use in the context of recent federal actions.

Policy Area

• Methods and Tools of Analysis

Secondary Policy Area

• Politics, Media, and the Policy Process

Moderator

• Adelia Jenkins, University of Pennsylvania

Organizer

• Adelia Jenkins, University of Pennsylvania

Speakers

• Richard Hendra, MDRC

• Lori Pfingst, WA Economic Justice Alliance, Washington State

• Alastair Matheson, Public Health - Seattle & King County