A recent press release reports, “The Department of State is pleased to announce the launch of the Center for Analytics (CfA), the Department’s first official enterprise-level data and analytics hub.  CfA transforms data into bold insights to help more than 75,000 Department employees – from the action-level to the Secretary – make better policy and management decisions to achieve America’s diplomatic mission. Led by the Department’s first-ever Chief Data Officer, CfA leads data management and analytics efforts and outfits employees with the latest tools, training, and technologies.  This unique asset helps U.S. diplomats use analytics to addresses key challenges, such as prioritizing issues for diplomatic engagement and aligning Department resources with U.S. foreign policy priorities. CfA is already shaping the Department’s congressional engagements, informing bilateral relationships, forecasting 5G security trends, tracking the activities of our adversaries, and revealing novel ways to address policy challenges.”

The release continues, “As directed by the President’s Management Agenda, the future of U.S. foreign policy hinges on intelligently leveraging data as a strategic asset.  Launching CfA is the first step in the Department’s pursuit of becoming a federal leader in data management and analytics, as well as a global leader in applying data analytics to evaluate and refine foreign policy.  CfA’s establishment as the Department’s first enterprise-wide data analytics venture represents a strategic milestone for U.S. foreign policy.”

Read more at state.gov.

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