Opportunity to Participate in RFI on Proposed National Secure Data Service
According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, scientific collaboration and diplomacy are key when trying to effectively address the imminent threats and complex challenges of the 21st century. The CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 offers an example of this emphasis on scientific advancement and collaboration. In addition to providing funding for the domestic production of semiconductors, this bill authorizes the U.S. National Science Foundation to create a National Secure Data Service Demonstration Project (NSDS-D). This new project will be operated directly or via contract by the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics and has the following requirements:
- Consult with the OMB and the National Artificial Intelligence Initiative Act of 2020 Interagency Committee.
- Align with recommendations from the Advisory Committee on Data for Evidence Building.
- Engage with federal, state, local, and tribal government agencies in support of evidence building.
- Use processes, systems, and technologies to protect restricted data, statistical products, privacy, and confidentiality under the Confidential Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act of 2018.
- Ensure transparency to the American public.
As a tool, the NSDS-D would be a five-year demonstration project that informs whether a National Secure Data Service would be created and the form that it would take. If created, the NSDS would be a platform of shared services that would streamline data access, privacy-protections, and data linkage to ensure expanded data use. The data service’s utilization of data would also help support decision-making on issues of policy and public programming, but it would require collaboration between all levels of government to be effective – including state, local, and tribal governments, and non-government stakeholders.
In order to effectively determine whether the NSDS will be created, the NCSES has formally issued a request for information, or RFI, on Use Cases to Inform a Future National Secure Data Service. This request hopes to utilize the responses from a broad, diverse cluster of communities to gather current and prospective research, policies, and programs for the data service and identify any challenges that could be addressed through this database. All interested parties and organizations that conduct work in research, program, policy, and education fields are encouraged to submit responses to the RFI here. All responses are due by June 14, 2024. To learn more about the proposed National Secure Data Service and get involved with the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, visit the following link
