DATA Act (2014)
Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2014 (DATA Act)
The Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2014, also called the DATA Act, expands on federal awards reporting reforms that began with the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006.
The purpose of the DATA Act is to improve the quality and transparency of the Federal Government's award data. Lawmakers have directed the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to create government-wide standards for reporting spending data associated with Federal awards. The law also requires that this data be channeled to a central, public database so that it can be easily accessed and tracked throughout an award's full lifespan – from a vote in Congress to its final disbursement.
Process and Timeline
The DATA Act was implemented in stages, beginning with the guidance issued by OMB in 2015. With the completion of the pilot program in 2017, agencies and award recipients are required to adhere to the new data sharing standards.
Here is a high-level timeline on the legislation's implementation, followed by links to more detailed resources about the DATA Act.
- May 2014 - Legislation was passed
- May 2015 - Initial DATA Act pilot announced. This included three key activities within the DATA Act Section 5 pilot program: (1) members of public commented on DATA Act and its reforms, (2) standardized data elements collected and placed in Common Data Element Repository Library (C-DER Library), (3) Grants.gov built the Grants Learning Center to support the federal grant lifecycle.
- 2015 to 2017 - Feedback collected from the public and federal agencies about the data elements.
- May 2016 - Version 1.0 of the DATA Act Information Model Schema (DAIMS) finalized
- May 2016 - OMB published the memo, Additional Guidance for DATA Act Implementation: Implementing a Data-Centric Approach for Reporting Federal Spending Information, providing background, new policies, and next steps in implementation
- April 2017 – Federal agencies submitted data per DATA Act requirements to the Treasury using the technical guidance provided in DAIMS v1.0.
- May 2017 – Treasury published Beta.USAspending.gov, which is the new USAspending.gov website that allows the public to more easily view agency spending and award data.
- Ongoing – Finalizing Beta.USAspending.gov to add functionality and 10 years of historical data. Until finalized, the current production website is USAspending.gov.
- Full text of the DATA Act
- HHS DATA Act webpage
- HHS DATA Act Section 5 Grants Pilot webpage
- DATA Act Background page on USAspending.gov
- Common Data Element Repository (CDER) Library
- OMB Memo: Additional Guidance for DATA Act Implementation: Implementing a Data-Centric Approach for Reporting Federal Spending Information
- Presentation slides from the April 1, 2015 webinar
Effective Date: May 9, 2014
Entry Type: Law
Document Citation: Public Law No. 113-101