1. In the Data Preservation and Transparency Initiative: We seek to develop Partnerships and collaborate with academic institutions, non-profits, and civic organizations to archive datasets at risk of removal. 

   A Public Repository is a longer-term vision. Developing an accessible online platform that houses preserved datasets critical to public welfare including environmental, health, and economic data has been a goal of many nonprofits for many years, our vision is being named “The Democracy Data Vault until partnerships and collaborations can coalesce into a decision-making format.

2. Public Advocacy Campaign: We need to add a public advocacy campaign to our efforts to construct a plan. As a start we propose the following. A Thematic Focus: Launch the “In Service of the Oath” campaign to connect the issue to officials’ sworn commitments (oath of office) and the general welfare clause of the Constitution (Article 1 section 8) to the Data Preservation project and the construction of a public plan and budget. 

  We must define “Engagement Channels”: Use social media, op-eds, public forums, and town halls to educate citizens about the importance of government data for democracy. 

Since childhood, we put our hand over our hearts and pledged allegiance to the flag and all that it stood for. Our “In Service of the Oath” campaign is meant to emphasize bringing meaning back to taking an oath, be it the Pledge of Allegiance or the Oath of office.

The emphasis on developing a team of collaborators to review and analyze data needs to be rooted in a grass roots perspective very close if not exactly like the sedition hunters surrounding January 6th. Except that the goal is to crowdsource the federal budget into pieces to look at what it supports and how it generates revenue.

Wrapping Up….

We have discussed long term initiatives in terms of data collection and data archiving by developing collaborations and partnerships with larger institutions. Experience teaches us that there are challenges in any partnership over use and ownership. We must have many baskets to put our eggs in, and many sources to get our eggs from. While we make our outreach, and acquire the census data that we need