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2026 DATA SUMMIT
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Public data is strategic infrastructure, and on Thursday, June 4, 2026 in Washington, D.C., the Data Foundation is bringing together researchers, policymakers, industry leaders, and data practitioners for a full-day convening with two complementary programs that will explore the role of public data in driving informed decision-making across American society.
LOCATION: Convene Hamilton Square, 600 14th Street Northwest, Washington, DC 20005
DATE: Thursday, June 4, 2026
TIME: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM ET
Symposium on Public Data as Strategic Infrastructure
The Data Foundation Symposium on Public Data as Strategic Infrastructure will feature interactive demonstrations and formal presentations from Data Foundation Senior Fellows and other invited guest speakers. Public data collected and managed by government agencies informs decisions, markets, and forecasts, while providing the basis for insights that underlie the mechanics of daily life in the United States. Symposium presenters will demonstrate the value of public data as strategic infrastructure across sectors. Topics covered in the morning’s symposium will include the use of these data sources for training artificial intelligence applications, responding to emerging public health threats, and enabling technological solutions to detect and prevent fraud.
Government data has long been an accessible and trusted source of information for researchers, industries, journalists, policymakers, and the public. The future modernization of our data and evidence infrastructure, powered by artificial intelligence and guided by budget constraints, will require thoughtful conversations about how to improve the data we collect and maximize the impact of our data investments across American society. As needs, resources, and tools to leverage data evolve, symposium presenters will invite our audience to consider:
Public data is strategic infrastructure. How do we ensure decision-makers, researchers, and the public have the information they need for today’s questions and the future’s needs? Join the Data Foundation for a full-day event, featuring a morning symposium and afternoon event that will feature dynamic tools, frank discussion, and collaborative efforts that push us to answering our four core questions. The morning’s focus on data as strategic infrastructure will precede afternoon programming focused specifically on the value of better data for guiding organizations’ investment decisions and managing exposure to climate and environmental risks.
AGENDA (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
9:00 AM - Doors Open / Networking Breakfast
9:30 AM - Opening Remarks
9:45 AM - The growing opportunities to gain value from unstructured data
Ted Kaouk, Senior Fellow, Data Foundation
10:00 AM - Presentation 2
10:15 AM - Presentation 3
10:45 AM - Coffee Break
11:00 AM - Presentation 4
Irma E. Arispe, Ph.D., Director, Division of Analysis and Epidemiology, National Center for Health Statistics
11:15 AM - Paths forward for integrative climate, nature, and economic reporting
Ken Bagstad, Senior Fellow, Data Foundation
11:30 AM - Presentation 6
Ben Spoer, Ph.D., MPH, Program Director, City Health Dashboard and Congressional District Health Dashboard
12:00 PM - Wrap Up Remarks
12:00 PM - Networking Lunch
9:00 AM - Doors Open / Networking Breakfast
9:30 AM - Opening Remarks
9:45 AM - The growing opportunities to gain value from unstructured data
Ted Kaouk, Senior Fellow, Data Foundation
10:00 AM - Presentation 2
10:15 AM - Presentation 3
10:45 AM - Coffee Break
11:00 AM - Presentation 4
Irma E. Arispe, Ph.D., Director, Division of Analysis and Epidemiology, National Center for Health Statistics
11:15 AM - Paths forward for integrative climate, nature, and economic reporting
Ken Bagstad, Senior Fellow, Data Foundation
11:30 AM - Presentation 6
Ben Spoer, Ph.D., MPH, Program Director, City Health Dashboard and Congressional District Health Dashboard
12:00 PM - Wrap Up Remarks
12:00 PM - Networking Lunch
2026 RegTech Data Summit: Managing Environmental Risk Through Better Data
As local communities, investors, insurers, industries, and states integrate climate, environmental, and natural disaster data into their operations and risk assessments, they face a fundamental data challenge: the information they rely on is often incomplete, inconsistent, or incompatible across sources and for differing uses. The Data Foundation’s RegTech Data Summit 2026: Managing Environmental Risk Through Better Data, hosted in Washington, D.C. on June 4, will address the questions, what is the better future we are working towards, and why; what are the data needs; who needs the data; and how are they getting that data?
Poor data quality, conflicting definitions, and fragmented systems create significant risk exposure and result in not only operational inefficiency but genuine uncertainty about whether organizations truly understand their climate-related exposures.
And yet, there are signs of collaborative and innovative efforts leading to solutions.
1:00 PM - Welcome Back Remarks
1:10 PM - Opening Keynote
Ed Kearns, Ph.D., Chief Science Officer, First Street
1:30 PM - Panel - Better Data: Impact of Data Reliability on Risk Analysis & Planning
Panelists will discuss how risk assessments are developed in practice, what data sources inform planning and investment decisions, and where gaps in data quality, accessibility, interoperability, and transferability constrain implementation.
2:15 PM - Panel - Better Data: Resilience, Environmental Risks, & Growth
Panelists will focus on how state and local leaders leverage consistent, reliable data to drive resilience planning, navigate infrastructure updates and population shifts, and ensure informed decision-making in the face of both extreme weather and potential growth.
3:00 PM - Coffee Break
3:15 PM - Lightning Talk
Jose Plehn, Ph.D., CEO and Founder, BrightQuery, Inc.
3:30 PM - Panel: Data, RegTech, and What's Working
Perspectives from industry and private sector will shed light on their data needs, barriers to efficient and effective reporting, and how a better climate and environmental data ecosystem would translate into improving business operations and the public good.
4:00 PM - Fireside Chat
Ken Bagstad, Senior Fellow, Data Foundation
4:30 PM - Panel 4: What future are we working towards?
Panelists representing philanthropies and coordinating organizations will unpack our four core questions, discuss current efforts, and where governments, private sector, researchers, and philanthropies can work together towards a better future. What is the better future we are working towards, and why? What are the data needs? Who needs the data, and how are they getting it?
5:00 PM - Reception
