Data Sharing and Analytics Advisory Committee

The Data Sharing and Analytics Advisory Committee (the Advisory Committee) was created to advise the Chief Data Officer of the Commonwealth in the establishment of the initial business rules, guidelines, and best practices required pursuant to § 2.2-203.2:4 of the Code of Virginia, as created by this act. The Committee sunsetted on June 30, 2020.

Data Sharing and Analytics Governance Structure for the Commonwealth of Virginia

According to the 2017 Executive Directive 7 Final Report, Leveraging the Use of Shared Data and Analytics (Appendix 1), only 22.2% of the Commonwealth’s 1,686 enterprise data assets were shared outside of the source agency due to a “complex array of federal and state laws, regulations, program rules, and related policies.” The report also mentions state agencies have developed a risk‐averse culture opting to not share data by default. Further, agencies do not have the necessary “technical, financial, or personnel resources to sustain data sharing relationships” or initiate and manage data analytics projects.

The ED7 report also stated:

Several provisions in the Code of Virginia place general restrictions on agencies seeking to share data. State statutes also significantly limit the use of shared data in some contexts, such as provisions in the law that prevent agencies from using data on citizens except for the purpose for which the data was collected.

Data governance and sharing will benefit the Commonwealth by improving operational efficiency, reducing cost, improving our data security posture by minimizing risk and reducing vulnerabilities, supporting outcome‐based performance management, eliminating duplicative efforts, and facilitating the development of solutions to complex, multi‐disciplinary problems. The ability for Executive Branch Agencies, Institutions of Higher Education, Commissions, Localities, and other Commonwealth‐affiliated organizations to share data, information, knowledge, and intelligence raises the collective value of our data assets. Read about the Data Sharing and Analytics Governance Structure for the Commonwealth of Virginia.