If you’ve attended any of our presentations or office hours, you’ve probably heard us mention just how complicated the U.S. federal statistical system is. Luckily, our partners at the Federal Data Forum have maintained an active and supportive online space to share information, announcements, and materials about
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We have exciting news for the Data Rescue Project community! Thanks to our partners at the Public Environmental Data Partners and Fulton Ring, the rescued HIFLD data has become part of HIFLD Next, a new platform for discovering and accessing the 400-plus infrastructure- and resilience-related data layers from the US
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The following is a summary of Dr. Lynda Kellam and Mikala Narlock’s closing keynote at IDCC 2026. The slides are available in the IDCC 2026 Zenodo Collection. Thank you so much. It’s genuinely an honor to be here with this community. In today’s presentation, we argue that
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Today we want to highlight the completed rescue of the data behind the CDC’s AtlasPlus by DRP volunteer @louisc! AtlasPlus is an interactive dashboard from the National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and Tuberculosis Prevention, meant to support researchers in creating customized tables, maps, and charts. This essential
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The daffodils by me are finally starting to sprout — the first sign that spring is truly approaching. As we transition from winter, there are a host of exciting events on the horizon. Here are just a few! 1. March 4, 12pm Eastern — DRP Office Hours: We're discussing the
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We recently posted about the takedown of signs at the President’s House site at Independence National Historical Park. We also posted a call for more photos for Save Our Signs, both before and after takedowns occur – the images in this post come from Save Our Signs submissions, and we
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Today's post is from our colleagues at SHADAC, who have developed a tool to help data users compare different surveys and find the data they need. Learn more, then try it out for yourself! Federal surveys are critical for national and state-level monitoring of health insurance coverage, health
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Both dataindex.us and the Data Rescue Project care deeply about the preservation and public accessibility of federal data. While much of our attention has focused on making these data assets available to the public, motivated by the threat of data loss, we might also ask: how could agencies properly
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The New York Times recently published a story detailing the mishandling and misuse of genetic data from over 20,000 US Children. Scientists falsified access requests to the NIH, pretending to be located in the United States and obscuring their true aims: to use the data to make false race-based
Preserving public data
At the end of January 2026, members of the DRP Steering Committee met in Philadelphia. Over the course of two short days, we held space to reflect on what we’ve accomplished, note where we’re stretched thin, and articulate what the next phase of DRP needs to look like.
Today's post is by Christopher Steven Marcum, an Open Science Advocate and former senior personnel at the Office of Management and Budget. On February 4, 2026, the CIA made the surprising decision to shut down the World Factbook after more than sixty years of operation. This move was
Exactly one year ago today, the Data Rescue Project was formed. While 2025 took so much from us, individually, professionally, as a nation, we will always be grateful that it brought us this community. That YOU showed up with your time and expertise, shared your knowledge and learned in return
Today's guest post is from Bobrary Bordelon about the DHS program, including some history, the importance of this work, and the news on continued data collection. With many surveys being discontinued and the staffs of many of the nation’s statistical offices being greatly reduced if not eliminated,
The Save Our Signs Project team needs your help – and soon. The Washington Post reported on Tuesday morning that sites across the country have been targeted for erasure, including Grand Canyon, Glacier, Big Bend, and Zion. Save Our Signs needs your help to document these educational materials before they disappear:
Today's guest post is from Tessera Strategies, in which they describe a recent development in evaluating the sustainability and responsiveness of data repositories during a crisis moment. If you manage a repository, consider participating in this important work. It was 2am early one morning in late January 2025
NPS signs and interpretive panels are now being removed from parks.
We are observing a bittersweet anniversary next week. From a positive angle, DRP has been part of an incredible community of public data advocates and volunteers. We are thankful for all of the wonderful people. But of course, "We should not be doing this," as Jessica Mahr of
As we approach the end of the first year of the Data Rescue Project, the DRP Steering Committee is hosting an Ask Me Anything (AMA). Join us on our Bluesky January 30, from 6-8pm Eastern where we’ll answer any questions you may have! Curious about the history of data
Today, we have the seventh post in the series to help diverse audiences understand and support the federal statistical system. This post is from Barry Johnson, and provides an overview of different sources of federal data. Check out their first post in the series on the uses of public data
Welcome to 2026 data rescuers! We missed you. We are back in full swing after a refreshing break. 2026 has undoubtedly been more lion than lamb, but we are ready and ... roaring. We have a few updates for this month: * Office hours * We will hold some office hours after work
According to the CDC, “The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) is the nation’s premier system of health-related telephone surveys that collect state data about U.S. residents regarding their health-related risk behaviors, chronic health conditions, and use of preventive services.” The BRFSS collects data about topics like alcohol
