The data governments collect must be thought of as a resource, a valued stockpile that wants exploitation. More importantly, this cache needs proper crafting. I believe that data in the 21st century is what timber, iron, and coal were to the 19th century. Today, we talk about producing and mining data, but the real value is in the creation of finished goods. While we have started to see positions like, Chief Data Officer, the focus is still on the resource and not on what we derived from it.