Our mission is to provide the federal government with the best possible customer experience and value in real estate, acquisition, and technology services. This mission, which aims for effective and efficient government for the American people, includes managing federal property, centralizing procurement, and developing government-wide policies. Through this Open Data Plan, we outline our completed initiatives, ongoing implementations, and future strategies that will advance this core mission.
The OPEN Government Data Act created new legal obligations for federal agencies, requiring them to improve their data governance policies, enhance their data management practices, and implement transparent processes for making data publicly accessible.1 In accordance with these legislative requirements and relevant OMB memoranda2, we commit to and are actively enhancing our data governance and management practices to promote greater public access and utilization of its data assets. Our Chief Data Officer, or CDO, will implement these comprehensive data management strategies.
The agency remains on track to meet all of our open data obligations as outlined in the OPEN Government Data Act and OMB M-25-05, Phase 2 Implementation of the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018: Open Government Data Access and Management Guidance3.
Pursuant to the legislation, this Open Data Plan describes our goals and details the completed projects, ongoing initiatives, and future endeavors regarding data management and publication in the following areas:
Data collection processes for open formats
We play a crucial role in promoting and implementing the use of open formats for data collection within the U.S. federal government. This is driven by legislation like the OPEN Government Data Act and guidance such as OMB M-25-05, which emphasize data accessibility, transparency, and utilization.
To ensure data collection aligns with open format requirements, we successfully implemented several key projects and continue to pursue initiatives that further enhance open data collection and management. The following outlines the completed projects that have supported our open data objectives and details the ongoing efforts that will advance our commitment to open data formats.
Progress and initiatives
- In April 2025, we published the Data Evidence Governance Board, or DEGB, Roles and Responsibilities, which assigned open data responsibilities to the Staff and Service Office, or SSO, DEGBs. By assigning these responsibilities, we moved the focus on open formats upstream in the data lifecycle. DEGBs, as critical decision-making bodies for data within their respective offices, now support the implementation of open data regulations. This includes the OPEN Government Data Act’s mandate to publish “machine-readable data in an open format,” and OMB M-19-184/Circular A-130’s5 emphasis on making data publicly available in “open, machine-readable formats.”
During data collection processes, the DEGBs oversee that:- New data initiatives consider open format requirements from their inception.
- Existing data collection methods are reviewed and potentially adjusted to align with open format standards.
- Data is collected with the end goal of public accessibility in mind, reducing the need for costly and time-consuming conversions later.
- Adherence to specific open format requirements for federal spending (DATA Act6) and geospatial data (Geospatial Data Act7) is monitored directly at the point of origin or earliest management.
- The Evidence-Based Data Governance Executive, or EDGE, Board, our decisional board that oversees and coordinates the agency’s activities related to AI and data governance, developed standard open data procurement language for our contracts mandating the use of open formats at the point of data acquisition from external vendors and systems. By requiring that all procured systems egress data holdings in an open format, we ensure that any data collected by or stored within these new systems is natively accessible in a non-proprietary, standardized format. This prevents the lock-in of data to closed systems and formats, which can be a significant barrier to internal use and public release.
- We are updating the agency’s Internal Clearance Process for GSA Data Assets, which will mandate open formats as a default requirement for data assets we manage. All data assets will be:
- Managed by defined data stewards.
- Maintained within the agency as an open government data asset and under an open license (with some exceptions).
- Made publicly available through Data.gov.
- Managed with the goal of eventual public release in an open format by default.
- Reviewed and sanitized of Personally Identifiable Information, or PII, and Controlled Unclassified Information, or CUI.
- Made available in an open format consistent with International Organization for Standardization/International Electrotechnical Commission (ISO/IEC) 21778:2017.8 If a data asset is not suitable for conversion, the data steward must identify it and note the reason for exemption, indicating a deliberate, managed process for format compliance in compliance with the Enterprise Data Solution, or EDS, Data Lifecycle Policy.
- We assembled a Data Catalog Working Group that defines data cataloging standards and best practices. This group addresses changes to our enterprise data catalog, including any configuration and/or field changes to enforce decisions on standardizing the curation of data; strategies for improving adoption, including training and supporting documentation and guidance; and strategies for improving the quality and consistency of curated metadata.
- We assembled a Data Quality Working Group to establish, maintain, and continuously improve data quality standards, practices, and governance across the agency. Led by our Statistical Official, this group works to make data assets accurate, consistent, complete, timely, and fit for purpose, with a particular focus on supporting emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence and machine learning initiatives. The working group will produce an Enterprise Data Quality Policy and Data Quality Standards to further formalize these efforts, helping us to consistently deliver data that meets the requirements of open data initiatives.
Data usage information
While we have long used our data assets to deliver on our mission and improve operations, we are also committed to supporting the dissemination, consumption, and use of federal data assets by the public. The agency has initiated research initiatives, and tracking of data usage metrics and utilization patterns to continuously improve how it makes data publicly available, with the goal of enhancing data accessibility, transparency, and overall utility for government and public stakeholders. We completed several key projects and will continue to pursue initiatives aimed at enhancing data usage. The following outlines the completed projects that support our data usage objectives and details the ongoing efforts that will solidify and advance our commitment to maximizing the value of our data assets.
Progress and initiatives
- In FY22, we conducted a comprehensive data maturity assessment across SSOs to evaluate the current state of its data landscape. The assessment identified specific data areas and dimensions requiring improvement, providing a clear roadmap for enhancing data-driven decision-making across the enterprise. The assessment highlighted several areas where we had opportunities to enhance our data maturity, including:
- Optimizing data ingestion and transformation processes.
- Implementing or improving enterprise-wide data catalogs.
- Increasing the accessibility of public data.
- Strengthening centralized data access across the enterprise and within individual offices.
- Expanding data science capabilities.
- Improving the recertification of visualization and reporting assets.
- Improving data timeliness9.
- Advancing data governance practices to ensure consistent and effective data management across the organization.
- An ongoing initiative, as part of the build-out of the EDS, involves conducting extensive research and user interviews with data professionals across the agency. This effort is focused on gaining a comprehensive understanding of how these individuals currently use data to inform decision-making, identify common challenges, and surface opportunities for improvement. By engaging directly with users, the initiative aims to uncover actionable insights that will shape the design and functionality of the EDS, ensuring it effectively supports the evolving needs of our data community and enhances the agency’s overall data maturity.
- We will continue to collect data usage information and metrics on public datasets through Data.gov. These insights enable us to prioritize additional datasets for public release and prioritize data quality efforts. By analyzing user engagement metrics and interaction patterns on Data.gov, we can better understand which datasets are most valuable to the public and identify potential gaps in current data offerings. Data.gov includes site-wide metrics10 as well as agency specific metrics11. Specific metrics captured include:
- Most viewed datasets by number of page views, and the associated page view counts.
- Most downloaded datasets, and associated counts.
- Most clicked outbound links, which measures the top external link clicks from dataset pages.
- Number of datasets made available on Data.gov per organization.
- Overall users by device type. This metric captures the number of users by device type (desktop, mobile, tablet, or smart tv), as well as the percent of users by device type.
Collaboration with external data users
We collaborate with external data users through platforms like Data.gov, the D2D Portal (data analytics portal used to share business insights, including visualizations, reports, and datasets), USAspending.gov, and shared services solutions that we manage. Additionally, we offer services like Market Research As a Service, or MRAS, and communicate with industry partners through Interact. We welcome and actively foster collaboration with external stakeholders such as financial institutions, trade associations, nonprofit organizations, academics, and the public.
To foster broader use and understanding of its public data, we engaged in several key projects to collaborate with external data users and will continue to pursue ongoing initiatives to further strengthen these relationships. The following outlines the completed projects that have supported our collaboration objectives and details the ongoing efforts that will enhance engagement with stakeholders outside the agency, including through platforms like Data.gov and shared service solutions.
Progress and initiatives
- We publish data on Data.gov for governmental and public use. By publishing data on Data.gov, we makes our data accessible to a wide range of users, including government agencies, researchers, developers, and the public. This access promotes data-driven decision-making in several ways:
- Open access to our data allows for greater transparency and accountability, enabling the public to understand government operations and hold agencies accountable for their performance.
- By providing access to data, tools, and resources on Data.gov, we empower users to conduct research, analyze trends, and make informed decisions based on evidence rather than assumptions.
- The availability of our data encourages the development of web and mobile applications, data visualizations, and other tools that can help solve public problems and improve government services. This fosters innovation and collaboration between government, industry, and the public.
- We published the GSA-IT FY 23-25 Data Strategy in December 2022, which outlines the approach to improve governance for collaboration and data sharing between SSOs, external stakeholders, and the public. It defines the need for clear, structured processes for how we interact with external data users, including the requirements to publish data assets on Data.gov for public consumption.
- We are launching an initiative to regularly publish metrics on the usage of our public data assets hosted on Data.gov, in alignment with federal open data policy. This initiative includes automated tracking of dataset usage—such as the number of downloads or API calls, most recent access dates, geographic distribution of users (where available), and referring domains or platforms—as well as monitoring citations in academic publications, media, and open-source projects. We will publish an annual summary highlighting top-accessed datasets, usage trends, notable external use cases, and user feedback. Additionally, a public feedback mechanism will be established to gather insights on how our data is being used, and all practices and metrics will be documented in our Open Data Plan to foster transparency and continuous improvement.
- To the extent possible, we make publicly available data that reflects progress toward the implementation of Executive Order 1424012 and Executive Order 1424313. This includes datasets and metrics that demonstrate improvements in procurement efficiency, such as consolidated contract awards, cost savings from strategic sourcing, and reductions in duplicative contracts. It may also include data on interagency collaboration, shared services adoption, and system integrations that reduce information silos. Where appropriate, we will publish dashboards or reports that highlight trends in procurement consolidation, agency participation in shared platforms, and measurable outcomes tied to waste reduction and improved data interoperability.
- We are drafting an AI Strategic Plan in accordance with M-25-21, which will outline the approach to engaging external expertise and fostering a broader ecosystem for data-driven AI development. The plan will underscore our commitment to directly partner with external data users, including experts from academia, industry, and civil society, who are leading AI innovation. Such collaborations are essential because these external partners frequently need access to specific types of data for training, testing, and validating AI models.
Prioritizing public data asset review
In alignment with the agency’s commitment to open data, we identify and publish high-value datasets beyond mandatory regulatory requirements, with the goal of enhancing transparency and providing actionable information to the public. Pursuant to OMB guidance14, we are updating our policy for identifying and publishing priority public datasets.
To ensure the most valuable and impactful datasets are made accessible, we established criteria15 for prioritizing public data asset review, which includes datasets that:
- Are already in the process of being disseminated through the Federal Data Catalog.
- Are used to generate “influential information” as described in OMB M-19-1516.
- Are used to develop, test, or measure the performance of an artificial intelligence system or use case.
- Respond to a specific user need or demand identified by the public (e.g., through public consultation or public feedback).
- Might have a direct or deep impact on the public, further the core mission of an agency, or meet other needs of the federal government.
- Might improve communication or collaboration or support decision-making at federal, state, local, territory, or tribal level.
- Directly support the delivery of a service or benefit to the public.
- Improve reproducibility of research findings.
- Might spur innovation or progress in science or technology.
- Are related to a timely topic in the public interest (e.g., related to public or news media inquiries), are subject to or likely to be subject to frequent FOIA requests, or otherwise have high usage or public interest.
The public can request specific datasets be made public and provide feedback on the criteria by e-mailing opendata@gsa.gov.
The following summarizes a completed project related to prioritizing public data asset review and details the ongoing efforts in this area.
Progress and initiatives
- We conduct quarterly data asset reviews with SSOs to identify new public data candidates for publication in accordance with our Open Data Plan. These reviews are implemented using a multi-faceted approach driven by legal obligations, internal governance, a commitment to data quality, and a proactive effort to identify and release data that offers significant public value, all while ensuring appropriate safeguards for privacy and security. These quarterly reviews will continue to be a cornerstone of our open data strategy.
Improving processes for meeting open data goals
This section details our efforts to meet the requirements of the OPEN Government Data Act by establishing processes for acquiring and updating IT, providing recurring training, ensuring appropriate workforce expertise for information resource management, and refining procurement standards to acquire innovative solutions.
The following outlines completed projects and ongoing initiatives that support our objectives for improving processes to effectively and efficiently make valuable data accessible to the public.
Progress and initiatives
- Through the Data Catalog Working Group, we enhanced our enterprise data catalog by adding associated metadata that indicates whether data are publicly accessible, as well as fields that specify release suitability. This enhancement identifies releasable data and streamlines public availability processes.
- Published in December 2022, the GSA-IT FY 23-25 Data Strategy directly supports open data initiatives by treating data as a strategic asset, which encourages broader access. It boosts open data efforts by improving data governance, quality, and automation for extraction and metadata. It also modernizes systems to eliminate silos, ensuring comprehensive, standardized data that is vital for open data mandates. The strategy builds the foundational infrastructure and processes necessary for us to effectively identify, manage, and publish high-quality open data.
- We are building out an EDS to provide a unified platform for data ingestion, storage, processing, and dissemination, thereby streamlining the data lifecycle and making it easier to prepare and release data for public use. Optimizing data as a strategic asset means recognizing the value of making data accessible, which aligns with the principles of the OPEN Government Data Act and our broader open data goals.
- We aim to establish a network of data experts to develop data standards and improve data management practices. To achieve this, we are working to enhance data training programs and update training resources to help employees gain the skills to create high-quality, accessible datasets with proper metadata. Additionally, we are developing various training initiatives for all levels of staff to promote data literacy and improve decision-making, ultimately leading to more efficient processes for managing and releasing data. These training efforts will be ongoing.
- To cultivate necessary staffing and appropriate expertise within our workforce for the implementation of information resource management, we will:
- Conduct workforce planning to identify specific skills, including API development, cybersecurity, and open data principles, needed to implement open data initiatives.
- Focus on gaining new data skills through professional development plans and are building a Data Stewards Community of Practice for continuous knowledge sharing. This helps keep data stewards up to date on the latest tools and techniques for preparing and publishing open data. When recruiting, we prioritize candidates with relevant skills in data management and open data principles, directly infusing specialized expertise into our teams.
- Implement internal programs like mentorship and rotational assignments when appropriate. These programs build a comprehensive skill set across the workforce, enabling employees to understand diverse data types and effectively manage them for public access. We plan to prioritize the recruitment and development of data stewards, data scientists, and data engineers, all which have a crucial role in advancing open data efforts.
We continuously improve the processes and infrastructure necessary to achieve our open data goals. These ongoing efforts in data management, training, and technology are building a strong foundation to ensure valuable and high-quality data are made accessible and usable for the public, ultimately supporting a more effective and efficient government for the American people.
Footnotes
1Pub. L. No. 115-435 (2019). Title II of the Evidence Act is also referred to as the “OPEN Government Data Act.”
2OMB M-19-23 [PDF], Phase 1 Implementation of the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018: Learning Agendas, Personnel, and Planning Guidance (July 10, 2019) provided guidance on the requirements related to the designation of CDOs and the establishment of a CDO Council.
3OMB M-25-05 [PDF], Phase 2 Implementation of the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018: Open Government Data Access and Management Guidance (January 15, 2025) provided guidance on the contents of agency Open Data Plans.
4OMB M-19-18 [PDF], Federal Data Strategy - A Framework for Consistency, June 4, 2019.
5OMB Circular No. A-130, Managing Information as a Strategic Resource, July 28, 2016.
6H.R.1153 - DATA Act, Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2014, February 28, 2023.
7H.R. 302; P.L. 115-254, The Geospatial Data Act of 2018, October 22, 2018.
8ISO/IEC 21778:2017, Information technology - The JSON data interchange syntax.
9“Timeliness is the length of time between the event or phenomenon the data describe and their availability.” (Source: FCSM-20-04 A Framework for Data Quality [PDF])
10Data.gov Site-wide Metrics
11Organization Specific Metrics: General Services Administration
12EO 14240,& Eliminating Waste and Saving Taxpayer Dollars by Consolidating Procurement, March 20, 2025.
13EO 14243, Stopping Waste, Fraud, and Abuse by Eliminating Information Silos, March 20, 2025.
14OMB M-25-05 [PDF], at 29-30.
15While data may meet these criteria, GSA may not publish certain datasets due to specific circumstances, such as national security concerns; privacy, confidentiality, and legal restrictions; high-risk AI systems; and procurement and IP protections.
16OMB M-19-15 [PDF], Improving Implementation of the Information Quality Act, April 24, 2019.
U.S. General Services Administration