Executive Summary: DoD Data Strategy
Unleashing Data to Advance the National Defense Strategy
BLUF: The DoD Data Strategy supports the National Defense Strategy and Digital
Modernization by providing the overarching vision, focus areas, guiding principles,
essential capabilities, and goals necessary to transform the Department into a data-centric
enterprise. Success cannot be taken for granted…it is the responsibility of all DoD leaders
to treat data as a weapon system and manage, secure, and use data for operational effect.
Vision: DoD is a data-centric organization that uses data at speed and scale for operational
advantage and increased efficiency.
Focus Areas: The strategy emphasizes the need to work closely with users in the
operational community, particularly the warfighter. Initial areas of focus include:
- Joint All Domain Operations – using data for advantage on the battlefield
- Senior Leader Decision Support – using data to improve DoD management
- Business Analytics – using data to drive informed decisions at all echelons
8 Guiding Principles that are foundational to all data efforts in the DoD:
1.) Data is a Strategic Asset – DoD data is a high-interest commodity and must be
leveraged in a way that brings both immediate and lasting military advantage.
2.) Collective Data Stewardship – DoD must assign data stewards, data custodians,
and a set of functional data managers to achieve accountability throughout the
entire data lifecycle.
3.) Data Ethics – DoD must put ethics at the forefront of all thought and actions as it
relates to how data is collected, used, and stored.
4.) Data Collection – DoD must enable electronic collection of data at the point of
creation and maintain the pedigree of that data at all times.
5.) Enterprise-Wide Data Access and Availability – DoD data must be made available
for use by all authorized individuals and non-person entities through appropriate
mechanisms.
6.) Data for Artificial Intelligence Training – Data sets for A.I. training and
algorithmic models will increasingly become the DoD’s most valuable digital
assets and we must create a framework for managing them across the data lifecycle
that provides protected visibility and responsible brokerage.
7.) Data Fit for Purpose – DoD must carefully consider any ethical concerns in data
collection, sharing, use, rapid data integration as well as minimization of any
sources of unintended bias.
8.) Design for Compliance – DoD must implement IT solutions that provide an
opportunity to fully automate the information management lifecycle, properly
secure data, and maintain end-to-end records management.
CLEARED
For Open Publication
With Recommendations
Department of Defense
OFFICE OF PREPUBLICATION AND SECURITY REVIEW
