Phase 3 Workstreams

Workstream 1: Case studies

We want to learn from and document case studies of federated data efforts.

Goals	Action items
Create a framework for evaluating federated data effort case studies	Learn how the Federal Data Strategy and others are evaluating use cases; Learn how FNS thinks about the impact of implementing the data validation service and the biggest blockers they have encountered
Tee up use cases for future engagement	Interview other use cases systematically
Share our framework and findings	Publish and present our framework

Assumptions:

• We don’t yet have a clear way to evaluate/categorize different use cases
• We do not have a strong sense of what tools/resources would be most valuable
• We don’t have enough information from the use cases we’ve contacted to decide which to engage with
• We don’t have a clear ask of other use cases
• We can’t engage with another use case in earnest without a clearer framework for evaluation

Workstream 2: Alignment

We need to be able to clearly position the U.S. Data Federation in the landscape of government-wide data initiatives.

Goals	Action items
Clearly define the way the U.S. Data Strategy relates to other data initiatives	Meet with Federal Data Strategy (particularly the Access, Use, and Augmentation Working Group); Identify other groups to align with; Continue to compare notes with the 10x Eligibility Rules Service team
Create/update the public profile of the U.S. Data Federation	Identify the best platform for communicating our efforts; Decide whether branding the initiative separately from others is the best course of action; Update current website or create new content elsewhere

Assumptions:

• We are not aware of specific opportunities to partner with/learn from/serve the Federal Data Strategy or other government-wide data initiatives
• Alignment with other data initiatives will increase the chances of long-term success and sustainability of the U.S. Data Federation
• There should be a place online where people can easily learn about the work we’re doing

Workstream 3: Data-ingest tool future

We need to know how future projects will access/use the data ingest tool.

Goals	Action items
Design a service/software offering	Come up with a name for the tool; Decide on long-term hosting solution; Reassess technical setup of tool apart from FNS use case; Develop pricing and cost-recoverability strategy; Prototype as needed (e.g., if we discover the UI version has applicability in other use cases)
Collect additional use cases for this tool	Create marketing/outreach materials that focus on the tool (not the U.S. Data Federation as a whole); Conduct active outreach to groups we know of or learn about who are doing things similar to FNS use case for interviews/data

Assumptions:

• We want to continue to develop this tool, independent of the progress of the U.S. Data Federation as a whole (i.e., it might or might not ultimately exist under that umbrella)
• Making the tool reusable may mean changing some of the way it is coded and/or developing GUIs
• We need a concrete understanding of other potential applications of the tool in order to design the best reusable version
• We do not feel it is imperative that we create prototypes or working software for another use case, but do need a deep understanding of at least one other use case
• Another use case from within FNS would be acceptable, but connecting with use cases that are different would be preferable

Workstream 4: FNS Data Validation Service

We need to set our partners at FNS up for long-term success.

Goals	Action items
Support the implementation of the FNS Data Validation Service with Kansas and Montana	Continue to work with Kansas and Montana/Colyar to support their testing; Address performance concerns (what happens if service goes down, etc); Create a threat/risk model; Create user documentation
Help craft a long-term plan for FNS’ implementation of the Data Validation Service post-Phase 3	Evaluate long-term hosting options; Understand what resources FNS has to devote to this effort; Craft a proposal for long-term sustainment of the effort; Create documentation/user guides for state-level implementation of the validation service; Synthesize all research/findings related to FNS use case and deliver to FNS

Assumptions:

• We do not need to support the implementation of the data validation service in states beyond Kansas and Montana
• We cannot guarantee support of the implementation of the data validation service beyond Phase 3
• FNS can’t independently manage the implementation of the data validation service

Workstream 5: Second use case

We need to demonstrate the reusability of our tool by partnering with another use case.

Goals	Action items
Demonstrate reusability of the Django data ingest tool	Further explore, define, and refine the features of the Django data ingest tool; Define the features needed to make it useful to other use cases; Create documentation around the application of the tool to new projects
Engage deeply with another partner	Pick a partner; Define the problem they are trying to solve and how our tool can help; Create a roadmap for working with them; Define and create a prototype

Assumptions:

• We are open to the second use case testing the same functionality that we’ve developed for FNS or exploring another feature of the Django data ingest tool (e.g. aggregation, web interface)
• We do not need to put this use case into production
• We cannot guarantee our partners that we will be able to see this through to production