The Final Action Plan Sets the Federal Data Strategy in Motion

Published: January 16, 2020

Federal Market AnalysisBig DataPolicy and Legislation

OMB released the long-awaited Final Action Plan to the Federal Data Strategy in late December, providing a slew of potential opportunities for contractors.

While principles and practices of the Federal Data Strategy were finalized last June, along with a draft action plan, stakeholders have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Final Action Plan of the strategy. The action plan, dubbed by OMB as “The 2020 Action Plan” finally made its debut in late December.  The purpose of the 2020 Action Plan, as the introduction reads, is to identify “initial actions for agencies that are essential for establishing processes, building capacity, and aligning existing efforts to better leverage data as a strategic asset.”

The 2020 Action Plan consists of 20 actions categorized in three ways:

  1. Agency Actions – specific actions taken by each agency to advance their ability to leverage data as an asset
  2. Community of Practice Actions – performed by a specific group of agencies centered on a common topic
  3. Shared Solution Actions – specific projects le by a single agency or interagency council for the benefit of all agencies

The below chart depicts an outline of each of the 20 actions. Performance.gov provides further descriptions on the steps and milestones required for each action.

*Depicts actions added since the draft plan based on stakeholder input.  

Contractor Implications:

With a long list of actions to complete within the next 12 months, the possibility of agencies turning to contractors for help is easy to see. Agencies are at a variety of different stages when it comes to effectively leveraging their data, with contractor assistance needed at every level. While some actions simply center on organizational development, many require consulting and training services for staff to achieve effective data management standards, processes and skills. Analysis support will also be required. Moreover, data analytics solutions and storage tools will help streamline and simplify data inventory, organization and use at agencies implementing the 2020 Action Plan.