These are some of the findings from “The 2025 State Chief Data Officer Survey: Insights from the Field,”by the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) and the State Chief Data Officers Network at Georgetown University’s Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation.
The report, released Wednesday, includes feedback from 27 state chief data officers (CDOs), who tend to come from a variety of professional and educational backgrounds, including areas like health care, research and project management. The respondents noted the essential nature of skill sets like communication, collaboration and public policy as they work to establish data governance across multiple agencies and departments.
There is, however, “no single pathway to a state government CDO role,” the report’s authors wrote.
When discussing the scope of their authority to establish data management policies, 67 percent of respondents noted “their authority encompassed the entire executive branch, while 11 percent said it was limited only to their department or agency,” according to the report.
Roughly two-thirds of CDOs report to the state chief information officer, or someone else in the CIO’s organization like the deputy CIO. Others tend to report to the department of administration, budget, finance or a similar entity, with only 7 percent reporting to the governor’s office and 4 percent reporting to another agency.
CDOs often remarked on the need for dedicated funding, staffing, tools and infrastructure to more effectively meet their mission.
“The role of a state CDO is not a technical support function, but a leadership role that must be positioned to drive strategy, governance and collaboration across government,” the report said.
And CDO funding sources varied, with the primary being the general fund and service fees — and almost half of those surveyed indicating they had more than one source. Budget sizes ranged from $325,000 to $25 million, with six people reporting having no budget at all.
