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| 8 Nov 2025 | |
| United States of America | |
| Blogs |
Celebrating America's Most Valuable National Datasets
The People's Data 100 identifies and recognizes national data that delivers the greatest value to Americans—spanning economic activity, public health, environmental protection, demographic research, public safety, and government transparency. These data power daily life, drive billions in economic activity, and enable everything from our morning commutes to breakthrough scientific discoveries. The People’s Data 100 list celebrates the invisible data infrastructure that belongs to the American people and works for everyone.
Why Open Data Matters
When the government makes data freely accessible, society thrives. Open national data fuels innovation without requiring government permission or payment. Weather data enables private forecasting services, supports insurance risk assessment, and helps farmers plan when to plant and harvest crops. GPS powers driving apps that make commutes more efficient and enables countless location-based services. Medical research data accelerates treatments and lowers healthcare costs, not to mention saves lives and helps us spend more time with loved ones. Census data helps businesses decide where to open new stores and communities where to build new schools. Emissions reports help communities plan for how to protect vulnerable populations. Public business and company reports help investors know more about the companies they trust with their life savings and retirement investments.
But openness requires intention. National data belongs to the public—we've already paid for its collection through taxes, regulatory compliance, and civic participation. Yet agencies can't know which datasets will spark the next breakthrough without clear signals from users. The People's Data 100 provides that market intelligence—recognizing datasets where accessibility has transformed how we live, work, and solve problems, while highlighting where better access could unlock even greater public benefit. The People’s Data 100 shows decision-makers – in both the public and private sectors – where investment in data infrastructure creates the valuable returns on investment.
How We're Building the List
The Data Coalition brings together a diverse community of industry leaders, government allies, and data experts dedicated to improving government, business, and society through open data and evidence-informed public policy. As an initiative of the non-profit Data Foundation, the Data Coalition members have been instrumental in the successful enactment of numerous data-related laws over the past decade. The Data Coalition community supports the implementation of good data practices through advocacy, thought leadership, collaboration, and strategic networking opportunities that promote evidence-informed decision-making.
On November 4, 2025, we're launching an open nomination process where anyone can propose data assets for consideration. Data Coalition members—representing business, civil society, academia, and the civic tech community—will review these nominations and evaluate datasets within their expertise to ensure diverse perspectives on real-world value. A panel of expert judges will also apply objective criteria like information on usage, data quality and infrastructure, how many other datasets depend on it, and scope of coverage. Expert judges will also incorporate an assessment that captures what numbers alone can't measure—societal impact, economic value created, whether the private sector could provide this data, and the dataset's role in enabling democratic accountability and market efficiency.
Through this combination of broad input and expert refinement, we're creating a systematic process that's transparent, defensible, and reflects which data matter most to Americans.
Our Commitment to These Data Assets
The People's Data 100 represents more than recognition—it defines our advocacy priorities. These are the data assets the Data Coalition will work to protect and strengthen by ensuring that the information individuals and businesses already provide to the federal government is generating substantial value to the American public. By identifying the datasets that matter most, we're committing to:
When resources are constrained, the People's Data 100 provides clear evidence of where investment creates the greatest public return.
Part of a Broader Movement
The People's Data 100 joins the Data Foundation's initiatives demonstrating data's public value:
Together, these initiatives celebrate the champions advancing government data and the impact of the data assets they steward on individuals and society at large.
Join Us
Help shape the People’s Data 100. Data Coalition members have the opportunity to not only nominate datasets, but also to participate in the evaluation process and shape our advocacy priorities. Whether you're in business, civil society, academia, or civic technology, your expertise helps ensure the data assets that matter to your organization and community receive the recognition and protection they deserve. Join the Data Coalition to be part of building the first People's Data 100 and advancing open data policy for the public good.
Learn more at peoplesdata100.org
Launching November 4, 2025 at the Datum Awards ceremony. Nominations available until January 31, 2026.
