NATIONAL CENTER FOR SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING STATISTICS

NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION

Making Connections Across The 

Federal Data Ecosystem

Emilda B. Rivers, NCSES Director

2023 FCSM Research and Policy Conference

Wednesday, October 25
NATIONAL CENTER FOR SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING STATISTICS 

https://ncses.nsf.gov

Today’s Discussion 

• NCSES and our need for data to inform investment decisions

• The Search and Discovery Platform as an asset for

o NCSES 

o The Federal Data Ecosystem

• Future considerations

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NATIONAL CENTER FOR SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING STATISTICS 

https://ncses.nsf.gov

National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics

Measuring America’s progress in science, technology, and innovation

National Science 

Foundation’s (NSF) 

Statistical Agency

Located within the Directorate for Social, 

Behavioral, and Economic Sciences (SBE)

One of 13 principal federal 

statistical agencies

Overseen by the U.S. Chief Statistician 

within the White House Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB)

MISSION

Produce policy relevant, policy 

neutral statistical information 

on the U.S. science and 

engineering enterprise:

• Research and development

• Science and engineering workforce

• U.S. competitiveness in STEM

• STEM education in the United States

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NATIONAL CENTER FOR SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING STATISTICS 

https://ncses.nsf.gov

NCSES conducts more than a dozen surveys

Education & 

Workforce

R&D Funding & 

Performance

National 

Survey of 

College 

Graduates

Survey of 

Earned 

Doctorates

Survey of 

Postdocs 

at FFRDCs

Survey of 

S&E 

Research 

Facilities

Survey of 

Federal S&E 

Support to 

Universities, 

Colleges, and 

Nonprofits Nonprofit 

Research 

Activities 

Survey Early 

Career 

Doctorates 

Survey

Survey of 

Doctorate 

Recipients

Annual 

Business 

Survey of Survey

Grad 

Students 

and 

Postdocs in 

S&E

Business 

Enterprise 

R&D 

Survey

Survey of 

Federal 

Funds for 

R&D

FFRDC 

R&D 

Survey

Higher Ed 

R&D 

Survey

Survey of 

State 

Government 

R&D

National 

Training, 

Education, 

and 

Workforce 

Survey 

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NCSES’s Search and Discovery Platform 

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NCSES’s Search and Discovery Platform 
NATIONAL CENTER FOR SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING STATISTICS 

https://ncses.nsf.gov

Key questions to inform NCSES investment decisions

• Who uses NCSES data, data tools and products? 

• How are they linking NCSES data? 

• What evidence are they building using NCSES data?

• What impact does NCSES data have?
NATIONAL CENTER FOR SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING STATISTICS 

https://ncses.nsf.gov

• Pilot agencies have different priorities but a 

shared vision of utility of usage data

• Pilot agencies engaged in road shows to gather 

stakeholder input.

• America’s Data Hub project to explore data 

usage platform as a federal data asset.

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Advancing our different objectives with a shared vision 
NATIONAL CENTER FOR SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING STATISTICS 

https://ncses.nsf.gov

Why a Search and Discovery Platform is a federal data ecosystem asset

• The current legislative and policy landscape is in need for these data

• OMB Policy Directives for transparency in official statistics

• Evidence Act: Open Data, Data Access, and Standard Application Process

• CHIPS and Science Act: National Secure Data Service

• OMB Memo on open access for federally funded research

• Trust Regulation (forthcoming)

• Potential shared service to serve the federal data ecosystem

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NATIONAL CENTER FOR SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING STATISTICS 

https://ncses.nsf.gov

As a shared service within the federal data ecosystem

• Enables a variety of data user communities to connect and partner on 

research, analysis, and application of the data

• Builds a data profile of the agency and system for decision-making

• Supports transparency objectives for improved data access and use

• Builds trust in official statistics through enhanced visibility of data 

application
NATIONAL CENTER FOR SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING STATISTICS 

https://ncses.nsf.gov

Key questions that support a shared service model

• Who are the audiences that use federal data, how are they linking these data, and 

what evidence are they building?

• How can agencies apply usage data metrics to inform priorities, investments, and 

resource allocation?

• How do communities apply usage data to make informed decisions about research, 

partnerships, and planning?

• How can the usage data, their underlying assumptions, and their presentation be 

improved for greatest utility and maximum impact across a diverse audience?
NATIONAL CENTER FOR SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING STATISTICS 

https://ncses.nsf.gov

Future considerations

• Generate topic-based analysis to inform future investments at the program and 

agency-level (i.e., not just look at survey usage)

• Build cross-disciplinary collaborations and facilitate routine engagement with 

research, program, and policy communities

• Create a cross-agency or system platform view to explore data sharing and linkage 

activities across the federal statistical system

• Use synergies within existing federal mandates to build upon and strengthen open 

access and transparency requirements

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NATIONAL CENTER FOR SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING STATISTICS 

https://ncses.nsf.gov

DATA about your DATA can inform your agency priorities and meet 

broader system-wide goals and mandates

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Key take away for the federal data ecosystem
https://democratizingdata.ai/tools/dashboards/

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