It’s Time for a National Chief Data Officers Council

[Commentary] As momentum around appointing public sector chief data officers grows, it’s time for the federal government to get ahead of the curve and create a formal chief data officers council similar to, but more inclusive, proactive and public than the already-established US Chief Information Officers Council. While this momentum, including that at the state and local levels, coupled with the work being done through Project Open Data, is inspiring, there is still a lack of national community, purpose and public visibility on a unified direction and momentum. As public data becomes a larger and important component of government’s service to citizens, it’s imperative our federal technology leadership take a proactive role in bringing together public data leaders across all levels of government to share best practices and create support and momentum for a national data movement.

[Luke Fretwell is the founder of GovFresh]