Bill Hoagland on Restoring Public Trust in Government Data

Send us Fan MailIn the inaugural episode of Data for the People!, J.B. Wogan (host) and Nick Hart (President and CEO of the Data Foundation) discuss the Data Foundation's mission to promote open data and evidence-informed policymaking. They introduce Bill Hoagland, Senior Vice President at the Bipartisan Policy Center, who talks about the federal government's use of data and evidence for decision-making and strategies to rebuild public trust in government and scientific institutions. Hoagland reflects on his experiences with the Congressional Budget Office, the Bipartisan Policy Center, and the Senate Budget Committee, highlighting the evolving data infrastructure and the importance of objective, high-quality information in public policy. The episode also discusses key national data sets and federal initiatives like the Evidence Act aimed at improving the data ecosystem.[IMPORTANT TIMESTAMP: The interview with Bill Hoagland took place on January 21, 2026 while Congress continued to deliberate over a spending deal to fund most of the federal government through the end of Fiscal Year 2026.]Learn more about the People's Data 100 and nominate a federal dataset that provides great value to the American people: www.PeoplesData100.org. 00:00 Introduction to the Data for the People! Podcast00:36 What is the Data Foundation?01:44 Why is the Data Foundation Launching a Podcast?03:58 Introducing Bill Hoagland11:45 Bill Hoagland's Career Journey19:15 The Importance of Data in Public Policy25:00 Rebuilding Trust in Government and Science34:10 The People's Data 100 Initiative36:32 Conclusion and Final ThoughtsWant to be part of a national community that promotes policies that enable government data to be high-quality, accessible, and usable? Join our Data Coalition: https://datafoundation.org/pages/join-the-data-coalitionThe Data Foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank. All contributions may be tax deductible. We appreciate all charitable contributions towards fulfilling our mission to make democratic society better for everyone by championing the use of open data and evidence-informed public policy. Donate: https://datafoundation.org/supportusFollow the Data Foundation on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/datafoundation