The 2024 Survey of Federal Chief Data Officers

Responsible data governance is crucial to ensure data is managed and used appropriately.

The Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018 (Evidence Act) established a framework to leverage data as a strategic asset of the US federal government to support federal agencies’ collection, management, and use of data to guide effective policy decisions. In the five years since the passage of the Evidence Act, agencies across the federal enterprise have tasked chief data officers, or CDOs, to develop data strategies, open data plans, and data inventories, along with various other responsibilities.

The Data Foundation’s fifth annual survey of federal chief data officers, conducted in collaboration with Deloitte, includes department-, agency-, and bureau-level chief data officers and statistical officials, and collects information on a wide range of topics. The 2024 CDO Survey reveals a maturing CDO function across the federal government, with evolving priorities and confidence in the CDO roles, alongside growing concern with limited capacity and a lack of guidance. 

Key findings from the 2024 Federal CDO Survey include:

• CDOs priorities are evolving as they make progress in achieving their missions. CDOs report high success rates in achieving their missions and widespread adoption and usefulness of data strategies. In 2024, CDOs reported a wider range in mission priorities compared to previous years.
• CDOs are building data maturity and successfully implementing their missions despite declining clarity in the CDO role. CDOs reported increased confidence in achieving their mission as well as increased data maturity across their organizations. Interestingly, despite clear progress and growing data maturity, CDOs reported declining clarity in responsibilities of the role and almost half of CDOs cite conflicting statutory or legal authorities—an increase of almost 15% from 2023.
• CDOs’ roles and responsibilities in relation to other data and innovation roles in the federal government remain unclear. Though a majority of CDOs find the CDO and chief information officer (CIO) missions highly complementary, the reporting structure is viewed less favorably and the perceived benefit is declining. Similarly, half of CDOs see missions of chief artificial intelligence officers (CAIOs) as highly complementary to their own, though some CDOs point to potential redundancy in data and AI responsibilities.
• CDOs face persistent challenges and need more support from organizational leadership. Consistently, CDOs report financial and budgetary as key challenges, and each year CDOs cite a need for staff and technology. Organizational leadership can help alleviate capacity challenges for CDOs by allocating budgets and staff support; however, one-third of CDOs point to leadership resistance among the top barriers for becoming a data-driven organization and for the CDO community broadly.
• CDOs signal a need for more coordinated data governance across the federal enterprise. CDOs report challenges related to a federated and siloed approach to data governance across the federal government. While the CDO Council can help with knowledge-sharing and networking opportunities for the CDO community, 60% of CDOs stated a need for further guidance from the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to implement key Evidence Act provisions, while 72% reported that an updated Federal Data Strategy implementation plan would help them achieve their missions.
• CDOs are looking for more clarity on CDO responsibilities and expectations related to AI. Almost three-quarters of CDOs reported involvement in the development of their organization’s AI strategy, and 90% of CDOs already use AI and are planning for AI next year. However, 43% of CDOs report lack of guidance related to AI as a primary barrier to using AI in their organizations.

Based on the findings from the 2024 survey of federal CDOs, the Data Foundation offers the following recommendations:

1. Clarify roles and responsibilities of CDOs. The OMB should issue guidance on Title II of the Evidence Act to provide more clarity related to federal CDOs’ responsibilities and roles in relation to other data and information officials.
2. Support data readiness for AI implementation. The OMB, in coordination with the CDO Council, should develop guidelines for data preparation and management for AI activities. Further, the CDO Council should encourage CDO collaboration and develop shared resources to promote AI best practices across the CDO community. To provide CDOs with specific guidelines related to their organizations, department and agency leaders should develop a framework for CDO involvement in the organization’s AI strategy development and implementation.
3. Strengthen leadership support for CDOs. The CDO Council should develop templates and talking points to help CDOs communicate value to leadership, bolstering CDOs’ efforts to advocate for resources within their organizations and build stronger relationships with leaders across their organizations. The CDO Council should prioritize a coordinated approach to communicating the value of the CDO role for advancing CDO organizational priorities.
4. Update the Federal Data Strategy and implement a cohesive, enterprise-wide strategic framework for data. The OMB should work with the CDO Council to update and release the next Action Plan to support implementation of the Federal Data Strategy. By offering high-level, government-wide strategy, OMB leadership can more effectively coordinate implementation of the Evidence Act.

Federal CDOs have made tremendous progress in the five years since the passage of the Evidence Act.

As agencies increasingly rely on data-driven decision-making to benefit the American people and businesses, the strategic vision and leadership of CDOs will be instrumental in navigating complex challenges, fostering innovation, and ensuring responsible data use. By addressing the persistent barriers identified in the 2024 Federal CDO Survey and identifying the opportunities for success, the federal government can continue to better use data to become more efficient, more transparent, and improve outcomes.