Department of Homeland Security - DHS

Department of Homeland Security

Response to Federal Evaluation Activities and Data Management (PL 115-435)

Department of Homeland Security

Evidence-Based Data Strategy (DHS EDS)

Office of the Chief Information Officer (CIO) Department of Homeland Security (DHS)

July 16, 2021

Contents

1. 2. 2.1 2.2 3. 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 4. 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 5. 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 6. APPENDIX A.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................... 1 OVERVIEW ........................................................................................... 1 BACKGROUND .................................................................................... 2 MISSION ................................................................................................ 2 GUIDING PRINCIPLES ...................................................................... 3 DATA-DRIVEN CULTURE................................................................. 3 ETHICS-DRIVEN DATA GOVERNANCE ....................................... 3 DATA-DRIVEN DESIGN..................................................................... 4 UTILITY OF DATA.............................................................................. 4 DATA STEWARDSHIP........................................................................ 5 DATA GOALS AND OBJECTIVES ................................................... 6 GOAL: MAKE DATA VISIBLE ......................................................... 6 GOAL: MAKE DATA ACCESSIBLE ................................................ 7 GOAL: MAKE DATA UNDERSTANDABLE ................................... 7 GOAL: MAKE DATA LINKED .......................................................... 8 GOAL: MAKE DATA TRUSTWORTHY.......................................... 8 GOAL: MAKE DATA INTEROPERABLE ....................................... 8 GOAL: MAKE DATA SECURE ......................................................... 9 DATA GOVERNANCE FRAMEWORK ......................................... 10 GOVERNANCE-CENTERED DATA MANAGEMENT................ 10 GOVERNANCE ACROSS DATA DOMAINS................................. 11 DHS DATA MATURITY MODEL.................................................... 12 DATA MATURITY BENCHMARK ................................................. 17 CONCLUSIONS .................................................................................. 18 AUTHORITIES ................................................................................... 20

Figures

Figure 1: DHS DGC Authority and its Responsibilities ..........................................................11 Figure 2: Enterprise Data Governance Overview ....................................................................12 Figure 3: DHS Data Maturity Model Categories .....................................................................13 Figure 4: DHS Data Maturity Benchmark Timeline................................................................18

1. Executive Summary

Enterprise data strategy and governance are foundational activities for DHS to ensure that the many data management stakeholders across DHS participate in "an integrated and direct connection to evidence needs."1 To use the terminology of the Federal Data Strategy 2020 Action Plan,2 both an "agency data strategy or road map" and "an inclusive and empowered Data Governance Body" are required for DHS compliance with the Evidence Act of 2018.3 These requirements were reconfirmed as a priority via President Biden's January 27, 2021 memorandum, "Restoring Trust in Government through Scientific Integrity and EvidenceBased Policymaking."4

This DHS response requires engagement with data stakeholders for their input on data policies, programs, and operations. It emphasizes how data enables progress in meeting DHS strategic objectives and outcomes. DHS will leverage the power of data5 and enable an evidence-based, data-driven, decision-making environment across the Department.

2. Overview

DHS manages significant data holdings across a broad set of missions and activities--many of them public facing and operating in a rapidly evolving threat environment. DHS data are complex, requiring appropriate management, with the assurance of protecting the privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties of the individuals whose information we maintain.

Each of the twenty-two legacy Components of DHS retains ownership and management of its own data, often with decentralized data systems that support the Department's various operational missions. DHS lacks enterprise-wide data governance to ensure that trusted, critical data are widely available and accessible in a real-time, useable, secure, and linked manner. This limits data-driven decisions and insights in the execution of swift and appropriate action.

The Evidence Act of 2018 provides the opportunity for DHS to establish an enterprise data strategy; moreover, it assigns to DHS the responsibility to promote better use and management of data and evidence consistent with the GPRA Modernization Act and OMB Circular A-11, Part 6.

To meet these requirements, DHS is implementing enterprise-wide data governance to fully address issues that are foundational for strengthening DHS' ability to support evidence building, leverage information sharing, and promote standards that coincide with DHS-level

1 Phase 1 Implementation of the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018: Learning Agendas, Personnel, and Planning Guidance, OMB Memorandum M-19-23 of July 10, 2019, p. 2

2 Federal Data Strategy 2020 Action Plan,

3 Ibid footnote 1, p.20

4 "Restoring Trust in Government Through Scientific Integrity and Evidence-Based Policymaking," Presidential Memorandum, January 27, 2021

5 Ibid footnote 1, p. 21

strategic planning. DHS data governance will encompass mechanisms and critical datarelated criteria, templates, and checklists for setting data standards; validation of data sources, integrity, and best practices; and the completion of agreements across DHS mission areas, management domains, and operational lines of business on information sharing, aggregation of data, and procurement.

2.1 Background The Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018, also referred to as the Evidence Act of 2018 (PL 115-435), requires federal agencies to establish processes that modernize data management practices, and thereby better inform policy decisions. This Act builds on longstanding principles from the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) Modernization Act that support information quality, access, protection, and use. These principles were updated and further defined in the 2019 OMB update to Circular A11.6 Finally, OMB implementation guidance for the Evidence Act establishes a new paradigm that "emphasizes collaboration and coordination to advance data and evidencebuilding functions....by statutorily mandating Federal evidence-building, open government data, confidential information protection, and statistical efficiency."7 The Evidence of Act of 2018 demonstrates that data management stakeholders are embedded in many business disciplines such as policy development, strategic planning, budget development and execution, program administration, performance management, and performance and cost analysis. The Evidence Act of 2018 therefore mandates that agency CDOs implement the needed policies and governance to ensure that their multiple stakeholders participate in "an integrated and direct connection to data and evidence needs."8

2.2 Mission Drawing from key themes of the Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018, the new data mission statement of DHS is to:

Provide transparent access to valid, reliable, and interoperable data that supports the Department's mission and promotes the public good. 9

6 Integrating Components of the GPRA Modernization Act and Evidence Act to Improve Organizational Performance, , Team, Aug 3, 2020 7 Phase 1 Implementation of the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018: Learning Agendas, Personnel, and Planning Guidance, OMB Memorandum M-19-23 of July 10, 2019, p.1 8 Ibid footnote 7, p. 2 9 DHS data is valid when it measures or describes what it claims, and valid data is reliable when it measures these claims consistently.

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3. Guiding Principles

3.1 Data-Driven Culture

DHS promotes a data-driven culture that will help employees and contractors value data as a strategic asset. Developing a level of data maturity and appropriate data skills will help the enterprise become more effective in achieving its mission. Plans and programs based on the Department Learning Agenda will promote a data-driven culture through employee assessment, training, and education.10 Data literacy will be an essential element of the Learning Agenda and will bolster efforts to promote better ownership of data across the enterprise.

? Invest in Learning: Promote a culture of continuous and collaborative learning with and about data through ongoing investment in data infrastructure and human resources.

? Develop Data Leaders: Cultivate data leadership at all levels of the federal workforce by investing in training and development about the value of data for mission, service, and the public good.

? Practice Accountability: Assign responsibility, audit data practices, document and learn from results, and make needed changes.11

3.2 Ethics-Driven Data Governance

Governance ethics includes the ethical use of data, which will be at the forefront of all plans and actions for how DHS data are collected, used, and shared. Ethical principles regarding the responsible have been and will continue to be important and will be championed by the DHS CDO and all data and analytics leaders across the Department. DHS will "follow appropriate procedures articulated in law and policy when creating, collecting, using, processing, storing, maintaining, disseminating, disclosing, and disposing of data about individuals and entities, whether the data are provided by participants and evaluated entities, or consists of administrative or other data created or obtained from other sources."12 Component CDOs will be responsible for promoting a culture of ethical data use that is supported by oversight mechanisms which identify and promote best practices among the United States and our partners.13

? Ethics at the Forefront: DHS will monitor and assess the implications of federal data practices for the public and will design checks and balances to protect and serve the public good.

10 DMM v.1

11 Federal Data Strategy 2020 Action Plan, p. 7

12 Phase 4 Implementation of the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018: Program Evaluation Standards and Practices, OMB Memorandum M-20-12, March 10, 2020, p. 14-15

13 Department of Defense Data Strategy, Sep 30, 2020, p. 3. The DHS Chief Data Officer Directorate gratefully acknowledges the Department of Defense (DoD) and its CDO for making available their data strategy document and for encouraging DHS to leverage that work where applicable.

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