Data & Analytics

User-friendly data reporting helps one agency tackle hate acts

When hate incidents are underreported, victims are underserved. That’s why the California Civil Rights Department launched a phone- and web-based system for individuals to safely and securely report their experiences.

  • By Kaitlyn Levinson

Building better maps with open data on building heights

To inform broadband buildouts, positioning of solar panels and development of digital twins, state and local agencies can now tap into open building height data.

  • By Stephanie Kanowitz

Is the census still the only reliable population data source?

While the census is still the "gold standard" of data, state and local governments are exploring alternative sources to supplement missing or unrepresentative datasets, experts say.

  • By Kaitlyn Levinson

The challenge in identifying problematic online gambling

While technology can help spot those who exhibit signs of problem gambling, finding just what to measure and interpreting that data is tricky.

  • By Chris Teale

Metadata catalog refreshes one state’s water use insights

A metadata catalog is helping Arizona water resource managers quickly find and analyze the data needed by water users, planners and decision-makers.

  • By Susan Miller

Why Republican-led states keep leaving a group that verifies voter rolls

Some cite ‘election integrity’ in their decision to depart.

  • By Matt Vasilogambros, Stateline

Ohio Senate approves DATA Act standardizing elections information statewide

The proposal, known as the DATA Act, grew out of a report commissioned by the Trump-aligned America First Policy Institute.

  • By Nick Evans, Ohio Capital Journal

How feds think data can buy time for people suffering a financial shock

Financial assistance programs need to respond quickly to be effective. The vast troves of government data offer opportunities to shave down that time.

  • By Aaron Boyd

How agencies can clean up criminal records to automate expungement

Automatic record clearance is a growing priority for states as criminal records delay individuals’ ability to reenter society and fill open job slots.

  • By Kaitlyn Levinson

One city’s growing opioid crisis brings data-driven solutions to the front lines

Two decades of overdose data helps the Baltimore City Health Department understand drug use trends to shape treatment programs.

  • By Kaitlyn Levinson

Virginia joins Republican states pulling out of multi-state voter list program

Once a founding member of the Electronic Registration Information Center, a nationwide data-sharing initiative to maintain voter roll accuracy, Virginia plans to leave the organization and establish its own maintenance system.

  • By Graham Moomaw, Virginia Mercury

Optimization model delivers faster emergency response

Researchers used historical traffic data to develop a model that calculates the most efficient routes for police and medical personnel traveling from dispatch locations to vehicle accident sites.

  • By Kaitlyn Levinson

Federal money is coming to fix aging flood control systems – but plans all too often reflect historical patterns and not future risks

As communities replace aging infrastructure to prepare for future climate-driven storms, aging data stands in the way. Experts warn historical weather data may not be sufficient for new infrastructure decisions.

  • By Antonio Arenas Amado and Lu Liu, The Conversation

Data gaps curtail innovation, digital equity

Insufficient or incomplete information limits governments' ability to leverage data-driven solutions and innovations, according to a recent report.

  • By Kaitlyn Levinson
Featured eBooks

Prediction: 2023 will be a ‘very active’ hurricane season

Using a machine learning model, researchers predict heightened hurricane activity this year that may leave the East Coast and Gulf Coast especially vulnerable.

  • By Niranjana Rajalakshmi, Futurity

Don't call it data literacy, it's data proficiency

States can get employees successfully working with data by making the training process more approachable, data experts said.

  • By Chris Teale

AI project targets hidden tax shelters

By flagging unintended consequences of changes to tax policies, AI researchers hope to shut down tax shelters used by sophisticated tax dodgers.

  • By Stephanie Kanowitz

Are people getting better at avoiding misinformation?

Research shows people may be avoiding unreliable websites more often, but older adults are still targets of malicious misinformation.

  • By Melissa De Witte, Futurity

How one city transformed its approach to data

COMMENTARY | Carlsbad, California, had siloed data streams and didn’t effectively communicate between departments. It changed that and is using its smart city status to tackle today's biggest problems.

  • By Fabian Sandoval

City pilots sensors that track street activity, detect conflicts

The devices will collect data on road users’ speed, turning movements and modes and paths of travel to inform safety initiatives and city planning.

  • By Kaitlyn Levinson

Takeaways from our investigation into Wisconsin’s racially inequitable dropout algorithm

Wisconsin’s Dropout Early Warning System (DEWS) scores every middle schooler based on income, race and more.

  • By Todd Feathers, The Markup