There are many reasons the quality of state and local data can be poor. Using that information can lead to unfortunate results.
There’s nothing new about the importance of data to the smooth functioning of state and local government. But over the last few years, with the aid of advancing technology, phrases like “data-driven” have become ubiquitous and are used to make it appear that policies that fit in that category have some kind of magical seal of reliability.
In fact, “while it’s a positive development that agencies are relying more on data,” says Tracey Smith, associate director of Virginia’s Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC), “that doesn’t mean the data is actually good.”
There may even be an inverse correlation between increased use of data and the likelihood that it is accurate, timely and useful.
Route Fifty
By Katherine Barrett & Richard Greene
MARCH 2, 2023