Utah

The Utah State Data Coordinator is the architect and content manager for the state’s open data portal and Spending.Utah.gov. A 2021 Utah law created the Chief Privacy Officer (CPO) and the Personal Privacy Oversight Commission (PPOC) to oversee and govern data sharing, privacy, security, and technology across the state. Utah has comprehensive data governance laws (Government Records Access and Management Act, Government Data Privacy Act) to codify baseline governance requirements related to data access, sharing, governance and privacy. Utah currently has a central authority in the form of a CIO, state archivist, Chief Records Officer and a Chief Privacy Officer that, in combination, are coordinating statewide efforts related to modernizing statewide data governance and management practices in addition to a modernization of GRAMA.

Utah has an established integrated data system and team named Utah Data Research Center which is a longitudinal data system that provides research findings that are summarized and made into visualizations for easier consumption, and is the primary source for Utah data for employment, education, and health.

The Utah Data Research Center (UDRC) was created by a 2017 law to integrate data from the Utah System of Higher Education, Utah System of Technical Colleges, Utah State Board of Education, Utah Department of Health, and the Utah Department of Workforce Services. Together, these constitute the “P20W” pipeline. UDRC offers “data products” (such as academic-quality research, reports, and dashboards) and “data as a product” for external researchers. UDRC annually publishes a research agenda in priority order including the primary stakeholder and research description. It also maintains a public archive of previous years’ learning agendas.

The Utah Data Research Center’s July 2023-June 2024 research agenda investigates themes related to education and workforce outcomes. Previously published research agendas are publicly available. As of July 1, 2022, UDRC was transferred from the Utah Department of Workforce Services to the Utah System of Higher Education per a 2022 Utah law.

Utah has comprehensive data governance laws (Government Records Access and Management Act, Government Data Privacy Act) to codify baseline governance requirements related to data access, sharing, governance and privacy. These laws include provisions related to collection, use and sharing of data with other governmental entities and researchers.

Utah’s open data portal was established in 2014. The open data portal includes over 8,000 datasets from federal, state, county, and city agency sources. Public data and dashboards may also be found across several state and agency websites.

In 2023 Utah Governor Cox also issued executive order 2023-01 which established a task force on state agency collaboration and data sharing, chaired by the executive director of the Department of Health and Human Services.

In addition, Utah’s Data Research Center has an integrated data system comprising longitudinal data between multiple agencies.

Evidence of effectiveness is required through GOPB’s budget request forms, with requests having to outline the “evidence-basis” for the associated program.

A 2021 Utah law (updated in 2023) requires agencies to set at least one performance measure for passed and approved budget requests of more than $500,000. These performance measures were reported to the Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget (GOPB) and to the Office of the Legislative Fiscal Analyst (LFA) within 60 days following the passage of the law. Annually, agencies are required to report performance measures identified in the appropriations bills prior to October 1 to support preparation for the next budget cycle. A Performance Measurement Playbook guides agencies on measuring outcomes rather than outputs to track return on investment. All measures and their data can be found at performance.utah.gov and cobi.utah.gov.

A 2021 Utah law tasked the executive and legislative branches with jointly overseeing and improving the performance of state agencies. Together, the Results Management team at the Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget (GOPB) and the Performance team at the Office of the Legislative Fiscal Analyst (LFA) collect performance data as stipulated in appropriations bills and for new funding allocations, in support of annual budget planning. Data pertaining to these performance measures are published on performance.utah.gov and cobi.utah.gov. A 2023 Utah law further enhanced collaboration between GOPB and LFA by establishing a joint review of line-item performance measures annually and further coordinating their work on funding item and performance measure reporting. An updated performance measures training was conducted on April 25, 2024, in collaboration with the Utah Department of Health and Human Services. Links to the agenda, training slides, and DHHS slides can be found linked here. This training session primarily focused on the development of high-quality performance measures and integrating performance measures with agency strategic plans and customer experience.

The State of Utah Division of Purchasing has created the new Office of Contract Management Support (OCMS) in order to improve the overall efficacy of contracts and contract management throughout the State. OCMS is being implemented with a focus on creating and continuing partnership relations and being a value-add resource. It aims to accomplish this through multiple focus areas; creation of contract management standards, proactive engagement and support to agencies, trend analysis, vendor scoring.

The Governor’s Office, and Utah’s executive branch agencies, actively seek public input and engagement on how to address issues within Utah, and place a high priority on engaging with members of historically underserved communities. For the first time in State History, Governor Cox has established the role of Senior Advisor on Equity and Opportunity to ensure that the Governor’s Office connects with groups that have historically not been included in state activities. One approach the office has taken is to require state boards and commissions to include members from various minority communities. 

It is also vital to the success of Utah that historically geographically underserved areas are brought to the table. The Governor’s Office has always made it a priority to serve rural Utah, especially as the state continues to grow.

Through the Guiding Our Growth campaign, the Governor’s Office has solicited public input from all Utahns on how they want to see the state grow, and what actions the state should take to preserve Utah’s quality of life as it grows.