Arkansas
Promising Examples
5. Data Leadership & Governance
The state has senior leadership and governance structures with the mandate to equitably use data to improve results.
In 2020, Arkansas named the state’s new Chief Data Officer (CDO). The Chief Data Officer position, created by a 2017 law, leads the state’s efforts to improve data use, infrastructure, and security. A 2019 Arkansas law created the Data-Sharing and Data-Driven Decision-Making Task Force “to implement a shared services model for statewide data sharing in order to drive innovation and facilitate efficiency across state agencies, improve the delivery of services, and to better serve the citizens of this state.” The CDO has led the development of the Arkansas data asset inventory system, Data and Transparency Panel, and cultivated statewide data culture and data literacy.