Online Program

In Search of Alternative Data (307994)

Keywords: Administrative Data, Alternative Data, Previously Reported Data

The National Agriculture Statistics Service (NASS) has been in search of alternative data sources to increase efficiency and quality and reduce respondent burden. To this end the agency formed a team to seek out new data sources and opportunities to use existing reported data. As the team leader, I want to provide some lessons learned from our experience for others who may be seeking alternative data. There are hurdles to overcome when using alternative data, but there are opportunities that can pay big dividends. Using alternative data sources can really provide a great return on investment. For example, in the Agriculture Resource Management Survey Phase 1 we realized significant savings in each of its first two years using alternative data. For our agriculture product prices program we have been scraping the web with an automated process that will provide valuable data and reduce data collection efforts. New data sources are important part staying relevant and staying abreast of advances in technologies and methodologies play a large part in attaining that goal.