Nick Hart, Ph.D.

Nick Hart is the President & CEO of the Data Foundation. He is a recognized advocate and leader for establishing systems and practices that enable evidence-informed policymaking and open data practices to succeed around the world to improve society. He is an expert in United States policies related to data, evaluation, statistics, science, and privacy.

During his professional career, Dr. Hart led initiatives in government and non-profits, championing the use of data to improve society. He is a fellow at the National Academy of Public Administration and the Bipartisan Policy Center. He previously worked at the White House Office of Management and Budget, as the Policy and Research Director of the U.S. Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking, and as the Director the Evidence Project at the Bipartisan Policy Center.

Dr. Hart has testified to U.S. Congress and panels of the European Commission, frequently comments on regulations and offers technical assistance on proposed legislation and regulations, and collaborates with policymakers to apply evidence for improving policy. He has written extensively about the need to collect, manage, govern, and use data to generate useful evidence for policymakers, including co-authoring two books: Evidence-Building and Evaluation in Government (2022) and Evidence Works: Cases Where Evidence Meaningfully Informed Decision-Making (2019).

Dr. Hart was appointed by the Director of the White House Office of Management and Budget to the Federal Advisory Committee on Data for Evidence Building, by the Comptroller General to the Government Accountability Office’s Advisory Council on Government Auditing Standards (Yellow Book Council), and by the Director of the Government Publishing Office to GPO’s Transparency Advisory Group. Dr. Hart previously Co-Chaired the Select Task Force on Information Policy Reform for the National Academy of Public Administration. He is currently a member of a panel for the National Academy of Sciences Committee on National Statistics and an evaluation panel for the National Academy of Public Administration.

Dr. Hart is an adjunct professor of program evaluation at George Washington University. He chairs the American Evaluation Association’s Evaluation Policy Task Force, among other committees and boards.

Dr. Hart earned a Ph.D. from George Washington University’s Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration, specializing in program evaluation. He holds a Master of Science degree in Environmental Science and Master of Public Affairs degree from Indiana University, and a Bachelor of Science degree from Truman State University.

Dr. Hart lives in Washington, D.C. with his son Calvin.

Books:

• Evidence-Building and Evaluation in Government (2022)
• Evidence Works: Cases Where Evidence Meaningfully Informed Decision-Making (2019)

Testimony:

Testimony to the House Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress on “Strengthening the Lawmaking Process: how Data Can Inform and Improve Policy” October 27, 2021

Testimony to the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Subcommittee on “Strengthening Federal Data Policies for Better Decision Making,” May 24, 2019.

Select Opinion Articles:

• Why Chief Data Officers Matter. NextGov/FCW, 2023. With Kris Rowley. 
• Public Trust is at Historic Lows — Here’s One Step that May Help Drive Improvements. 2023. With Nancy Potok. 
• Data Must Lead the Way to Reopening our Schools. NextGov, 2021. With K. Tromble.
• We desperately need sound data to understand COVID Impacts. The Hill, 2020. With C. Rothwell.
• The pandemic is bad, we need the capability to measure just how bad. The Hill, 2020. With N. Potok.

Select Articles:

• Evidence 2.0: The Next Era of Evidence-Based Policymaking. SSIR, 2023. With Jason Saul.

• Using Data in Government: Advancing Policy Frameworks to Support Operational Decision Making. Journal of Behavioral Public Administration, 2023.

• Evidence Commission After 5 Years: A Progress Report for a More Evidence-Informed Society. Washington, D.C.: Data Foundation, 2022. With S. Stefanik.

• A Blueprint for Implementing the National Secure Data Service: Initial Governance and Administrative Priorities for the National Science Foundation. Washington, D.C.: Data Foundation, 2022. With N. Potok.

• Modernizing Agriculture Data Infrastructure to Improve Economic and Ecological Outcomes. Washington, D.C.: Data Foundation and Agree, 2022.

• Learning Agendas: Motivation, Engagement, and Potential. In New Directions for Evaluation, 2022. With K. Newcomer and K. Olejniczak. Co-edited by M. Mark and N. Hart.

• Evaluation Policy: An Introduction. In New Directions for Evaluation, 2022. With M. Mark. Co-edited by M. Mark and N. Hart.

• The Future of Evaluation Policy. In New Directions for Evaluation, 2022. With M. Mark. Co-edited by M. Mark and N. Hart.

• Data Literacy for the Public Sector: Lessons from Early Pioneers in the U.S. Washington, D.C.: Data Foundation, Deloitte, Data Lodge, 2022. With A. Karkera and V. Logan.

• Federal Evaluation Officials: 2021 Survey Results on Emerging Capacity in Agency to Implement the Evidence Act. Washington, D.C.: Data Foundation, 2021. With S. Mumford.

• Practical Steps for Building State Capacity and Infrastructure to Use Data for Evidence-Based Decision Making in Improving Data Infrastructure to Reduce Firearms Violence. Washington, D.C.: NORC at the University of Chicago, pp. 132-165. With N. Potok.

• Comment on Heterogenous Program Impacts in Lessons from SSA Demonstrations for Disability Policy and Future Research. Washington, D.C.: Social Security Administration.

• CDO Insights: 2021 Survey Results on the Maturation of Data Governance in U.S. Federal Agencies. Washington, D.C.: Data Foundation, 2021. With J. Willey et al.

• Perceptions of Policing Activities: Results from the Policing in America Survey by Race and Ethnicity. With S. Williams. Washington, D.C.: Data Foundation, 2021.

• Structuring the Chief Data Office for Success: Identifying Appropriate Organizational Placement and Structures for a Federal CDO. Washington, D.C.: Data Foundation, 2021.

• Making Federal Agencies Evidence Based: The Key Role of Learning Agendas. Washington, D.C.: IBM Center for the Business of Government, 2021. With K. Newcomer and K. Olejniczak.

• Modernizing U.S. Data Infrastructure: Design Considerations for a National Secure Data Service. Washington, D.C.: Data Foundation, 2020. 

• Strengthening Transparency and Accountability at EPA: Options for Enhancing the Environmental Protection Agency’s Culture for Science, Evidence, and Data. Washington, D.C.: Bipartisan Policy Center.

• Meaningful Transparency at EPA: A Framework for Rationalizing Approaches to Promote Open Science and Data Sharing for Evidence-Based Policymaking. Washington, D.C.: Bipartisan Policy Center. With D. D’Darcy.

• Funding the Evidence Act: Options for Allocating Resources to Meet Emerging Data and Evidence Needs in the Federal Government. Washington, D.C.: Data Foundation, 2019. With K. Fatherree.

• Privacy-Preserved Data Sharing for Evidence-Based Policy Decisions: A Demonstration Project Using Human Services Administrative Records for Evidence-Building Activities. Washington, D.C.: Bipartisan Policy Center, 2019. With D. Archer and E. Dalton.

• Tracking Federal Funding to Combat the Opioid Crisis. Washington, D.C.: Bipartisan Policy Center. With A. Parekh, G.W. Hoagland, R. Labelle, C. Cafaro, T. Swope, and M. Bailey.