U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker Announces First-Ever Commerce Data Service

Today, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker announced the launch of the first-ever Commerce Data Service at Techonomy 2015 in Half Moon Bay, CA. Consisting of software engineers, data scientists, computer programmers, and web developers, the mission of Commerce Data Service is to develop cutting-edge software products and web services to improve access to and use of departmental data resources of all 12 bureaus. Activities will include developing user interfaces to make navigating online resources and databases easier, creating tools to enhance data sharing and dissemination, and maximizing the value of Commerce data through collaborations across federal agencies and with public and private sector partners.

The Commerce Data Service is led by the department’s Chief Data Officer, Ian Kalin.

As America’s Data Agency, the Commerce Department’s data is used to measure GDP and economic indicators, track population growth statistics, and aggregate weather and climate data. Leveraging the value of data is a key pillar of Secretary Pritzker’s “Open for Business” agenda, and the Commerce Data Service is another example of an ongoing commitment to transforming the Department’s data capabilities and supporting a data-enabled economy.

“Making data more accessible and useful to the public and business communities can spur innovation, boost economic activity, and create jobs. It can also improve the work of the department by helping us be more efficient and responsive to our customers’ needs,” said Ian Kalin, Chief Data Office for the Department of Commerce. “The Commerce Data Service will help revolutionize data practices, and work to ensure public and private partners can use data to make decisions that increase return on investment for businesses, entrepreneurs, government, taxpayers, and communities.”

Among various projects, the Commerce Data Service will focus on key issues of national importance within the Department of Commerce, including:

• Boosting U.S. exports by using data science to connect businesses with growth opportunities,
• Modernizing patent data and user interfaces to better share this information with the public and to help businesses easily safeguard and discover intellectual property,
• Improving data standards to improve accessibility of information and to facilitate greater data integration, dissemination and use for the public, and
• Launching a data visualization portal to showcase examples and provide tutorials for how to utilize Commerce data (e.g. visualizing oceanic and atmospheric data)

With the launch of the Commerce Data Service, the department is actively recruiting data experts from both the public and private sector, for opportunities as data scientists and front-end and back-end developers. For more information, and to submit a resume for potential employment consideration, please visit https://www.commerce.gov/dataservice/.