Data is a critical component many agencies can utilize to anticipate and analyze problems that could impede operations and delivery of government services. By applying key aspects of The Federal Data Strategy, many government agencies were positioned to better curate, use, and share operational data as agencies were asked to disperse funds for the economy and collaborate with industry to understand and fight the COVID-19 virus. For example, The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) created a system called HHS PROTECT, in just nine days, that pulled together an ecosystem of over 200 datasets. PROTECT provided a common operating picture of the spread, impact, and behavior of the virus for decision-makers to analyze policy options with data insights.

Multiple agencies leveraged data and artificial intelligence to ramp up and inform their COVID-19 response-related actions. Agencies are harnessing the power of data to address a wide range of use cases, from powering Census 2020 to detecting fraud in federal programs.