Partnership for Public Service and USAFacts announce 2025 Federal Data Excellence Award winners

March 31, 2026

Awards celebrate exceptional federal data products that educate the public about banking, measure vegetation change and estimate medical expenditures 

WASHINGTON – The nonprofit, nonpartisan Partnership for Public Service, in partnership with USAFacts, today announced the winners of the second annual Federal Data Excellence Awards. The program recognizes and celebrates efforts by agencies to improve federal data practices and spotlights the importance of accessible and transparent government data. 

This year’s awards come after the Trump administration’s unprecedented cuts to federal data personnel and projects. As a part of the Federal Data Excellence program, the Partnership and USAFacts also published a new issue brief examining the current state of federal data, and found that out of the 55 data products nominated for last year’s awards, only half were still actively updating as initially planned and two were taken offline entirely. The federal data products no longer available include the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s dashboard on disaster declarations and the Federal Highway Administration’s Inequity Identification Tool. 

“Our government needs timely, reliable and accessible data to effectively serve the American people and build public trust. Eroding our federal data capabilities makes our country less equipped to respond to the many threats and challenges present in today’s world,” said Max Stier, the Partnership’s president and CEO. “We are honored to celebrate the dedicated teams of public servants who have navigated an increasingly challenging federal landscape to continue to make this critical data available to policymakers and the public.”   

In the fall of 2025, the Partnership and USAFacts assessed 43 data products nominated across three categories: administrative, geospatial and statistical. This year’s winners provide insights to help users learn more about the banks and savings institutions that hold their deposits, track wildlife and vegetation changes, and estimate how Americans access and pay for medical care. They will be honored by the Partnership and USAFacts at an awards ceremony on Tuesday, March 31. 

“We congratulate this year’s Federal Data Excellence Award winners for setting a strong benchmark in how federal data should be structured, maintained and delivered,” said Richard Coffin, Chief Research & Advocacy Officer for USAFacts. “By recognizing these leaders, the program helps drive continued progress in making government data more accessible, impactful, and valuable to the American public.” 

2025 Federal Data Excellence Program Winners 

Administrative Product Award: BankFind Suite – Summary of Deposits, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation 

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s BankFind Suite enables users to learn more about the banks and savings institutions that hold their deposits. The annual Summary of Deposits included in this tool allows financial experts and analysts to gain key insights into the health and competitiveness of the U.S. banking sector by examining trends in deposit values, growth and market share. The suite bridges accessibility gaps through tutorials, a dedicated Help section and a robust API for both machine-friendly and human-readable data access. 

Geospatial Product Award: Landscape Change Monitoring System, Forest Service, 

U.S. Department of Agriculture  

The Landscape Change Monitoring System uses remote sensing data to map vegetation cover and land use changes since 1985 across the United States, enabling users to track wildfire impacts, monitor local ecologies and inform community land use plans. Supported by the United States Geological Survey, NASA and the academic community, the system offers a well-documented scientific foundation and an accessible website and interactive tools that include composite timelapses and animated map visualizations.  

Statistical Product Award: Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Household Component, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality 

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Household Component uses household survey data to estimate how Americans access and pay for medical care. Federal, state and local policymakers use these estimates to understand trends in health insurance coverage across demographic groups as well as opioid usage and the financial burden of chronic conditions. The resource features a dashboard, downloadable data files, detailed methodology documentation and tailored guidance for researchers, policymakers and the media. 

Honorable Mention – Static Product: National Fire Incident Reporting System, U.S. Fire Administration 

The National Fire Incident Reporting System enabled fire departments, emergency medical service agencies and fire marshals to share incident data since the 1970s, supporting fire prevention policies, resource allocation, and safety education. Although the system officially sunset on Jan. 31, 2026, it is being recognized for its long history of service. It has been replaced by the National Emergency Response Information System, which collected more than a million incident reports in 2025. 

The 2025 nominations were evaluated using criteria developed by USAFacts, the Partnership and several federal agencies. Data scientists, evaluators, analysts and program officers from the departments of Education, Health and Human Services and Homeland Security, the Census Bureau, the Office of Management and Budget and the National Science Foundation provided feedback on the criteria’s clarity, validity and weighting. 

To learn more about this year’s winners and upcoming programming, visit the Federal Data Excellence Program page.   

During the past 25 years, the nonpartisan, nonprofit Partnership for Public Service has been dedicated to building a better government and a stronger democracy. We work across administrations to help transform the way government works by providing agencies with the data insights they need to succeed, developing effective leaders, inspiring the next generation to public service, facilitating smooth presidential transitions and recognizing exceptional federal employees.  

Visit ourpublicservice.org, follow us @PublicService and subscribe today to get the latest federal news, information on upcoming Partnership programs and events, and more       

USAFacts is a nonpartisan civic organization making government data easy for all Americans to access and understand. USAFacts provides an online resource of well-visualized data and trends in US spending, revenue, demographics to help ground public debate in facts. It produces topical content each week and produces three annual reports: State of the Union, 10-K and America in Facts: A Data-Driven Report to Congress. Follow @USAFacts on X, TikTok, Instagram and sign up for the data-driven newsletter at https://usafacts.org/signup/. 

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