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WASHINGTON, D.C., February 14, 2025 — The Data Foundation today announced the launch of SAFE-Track (Secure Anonymous Federal Evidence, Data and Analysis Tracking), a new secure, encrypted portal that enables confidential reporting of impacts from recent changes to federal evidence and data activities. This initiative responds to reports of significant disruptions affecting private sector research firms, federal contractors, and ongoing evaluation projects across government.

“We are hearing initial reports from our private sector partners in the data and evaluation communities about widespread effects on America’s evidence infrastructure, from mass layoffs at research firms to the premature termination of critical studies,” said Dr. Nick Hart, President and CEO of the Data Foundation. “Through SAFE-Track, we aim to systematically understand these impacts and inform policymakers while protecting the privacy and security of those sharing information.”

SAFE-Track (www.safe-track.org) provides:

• Complete anonymity for submissions

• End-to-end encryption of all data

• No requirement for email or personal identification

• Option for secure follow-up communication through anonymous conversation codes

• Protections against collection of personally identifiable information

The Data Foundation is particularly interested in documenting:

• Business impacts on private sector firms and contractors

• Effects on ongoing research and evaluation projects

• Implications for evidence-based policymaking

• Challenges in implementing the Evidence Act’s requirements

• Real-time impacts on government effectiveness and efficiency

“This secure platform will help the Data Foundation gather information about how recent changes affect the data and evaluation community’s ability to measure government performance and ensure taxpayer dollars are spent effectively,” added Hart. “Understanding these impacts is essential for supporting the bipartisan commitment to evidence-based policymaking established by the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act, which President Trump signed into law in 2019.”

The Data Foundation emphasizes that submissions should avoid including personally identifiable information or confidential business information unless respondents specifically choose to be identified. The Foundation will use aggregated findings to inform Congress, the White House, and other stakeholders about the scope and scale of impacts while maintaining strict confidentiality of individual responses.

This entry was posted on February 23, 2025 at 12:25 am and is filed under Statistics, University life with tags American Statistical Association, ASA, data encryption, Data Foundation, evidence, Evidence Act, federal agencies, SAFE-Track, Stand Up To Trump, Trump administration. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.