State policymakers can better enable data-driven innovation, report finds

Some states are better positioned for success in the data economy than others, but all have opportunities for growth, according to a recent report from the Center for Data Innovation. To determine The Best States for Data Innovation authors Daniel Castro, Josh New, and John Wu use 25 indicators across three dimensions: data availability, digital infrastructure, and human and business resources. The authors suggest that all states are capable of improving their capacity for data-driven innovation. To do so, they recommend that state policymakers: make their data accessible and transparent; develop infrastructure items such as broadband Internet and smart connectivity; and, support the use of data to make existing industries more competitive.

In the full report, the authors provide detail on all 25 indicators, including their importance, their methodology and data sources, and state rankings. The states with the highest overall scores in the index are Massachusetts, Washington, and Maryland. Affiliated with the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), the Center for Data Innovation is a non-profit, non-partisan research-institute focused on the intersection of data, technology, and public policy.