Opinion: Smartly managed public data will accelerate U.S. leadership in science and innovation

I would be hard-pressed to find another time in our shared history when facts and the science behind those facts have been more critical to public policy making. The bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 that became law this summer is remarkable in its scale of investment into public policy and, likewise, offers an ideal environment to demonstrate how successful data-driven decisions can be made. First, let’s be clear: public data exists for the public good. Data is a precious commodity that is agnostic to ideology, drives evidence-based conclusions, and is limitless in its application. Here at the Coleridge Initiative, we know that better data means better public policy.