(US and Canada) Kathryn Darnall Helms, Chief Data Officer, State of Oregon, speaks with Denise Collison, SHI International Corp. SVP of Public Sector Sales, in a video interview about the concept of data informed versus data-driven, data sharing, and future strategic projects.

Helms says that the State of Oregon shifted to data-informed to consider data as a piece of the puzzle, not the end. In other words, a dashboard does not necessarily drive a decision and needs to be incorporated with additional skill sets.

She shifts the focus to using qualitative information, such as client feedback, surveys, and client experiences, in making decisions. Helms notes that data is not necessarily the only driving factor in making decisions.

Regarding data sharing, she says Oregon is considering building an enterprise MOU process for data sharing. It would be a templated process for negotiating data and sharing between agencies through standardized language. Helms explains that the specific request process could require up to a year as agencies go back and forth and negotiate contract terms or governance approaches.

Additionally, she discusses investments in the state’s geospatial data governance and the development of data-sharing infrastructure to support the sharing of geospatial data between public bodies for decision-making.

Highlighting future strategic projects, Helms says that the organization is in the process of updating priorities and actions for 2023 through 2025.

Interest areas include:

• An enterprise MOU for data sharing
• Stronger workforce development
• Leveraging data literacy efforts
• Expanding the work in data equity

Helms concludes that the data literacy efforts would include key recommendations or core data literacy training for all state agencies or a specific subset of users.

CDO Magazine appreciates Kathryn Darnall Helms for sharing her insights and data success stories with our global community.

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