Federal Data, Local Impact: What Cities Need to Know

City leaders are on the front lines of data use, but most lack visibility into the federal data landscape, what's available, what's changing, and how federal policy decisions affect local outcomes. This gap delays emergency response, misdirects resources away from high-need neighborhoods, and undermines AI systems that depend on accurate data and community trust.

Host Stephen Goldsmith speaks with Denice Ross,  Director of Federal Data Policy at the Federation of American Scientists, about the relationship between local and federal data, what city CDOs should prioritize, and why cities have untapped power to shape federal data policy.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• The often-hidden relationship between local data needs and federal data infrastructure
• How to identify and access the federal data your city should be using
• Why now is the time to prepare for Census 2030 and protect funding
• How community participation in data decisions prevents disparities and builds legitimacy for AI systems
• How local data leaders can advocate effectively during federal policy windows

Guest:

• Denice Ross –  Director of Federal Data Policy at the Federation of American Scientists; former United States Chief Data Scientist

Listener Survey: bit.ly/datasmartpod

Music credit: Summer-Man by Ketsa

About Data-Smart City Solutions

Data-Smart City Solutions, housed at the Bloomberg Center for Cities at Harvard University, is working to catalyze the adoption of data projects on the local government level by serving as a central resource for cities interested in this emerging field. We highlight best practices, top innovators, and promising case studies while also connecting leading industry, academic, and government officials. Our research focus is the intersection of government and data, ranging from open data and predictive analytics to civic engagement technology. We seek to promote the combination of integrated, cross-agency data with community data to better discover and preemptively address civic problems. To learn more visit us online and follow us on LinkedIn.