Data Foundation named finalist in three Anthem Awards categories

The Data Foundation has been named a finalist in three categories of the 6th Annual Anthem Awards, with recognition for its climate data partnerships, federal data infrastructure research and evidence-building tools. Public voting is open through Oct. 29, and winners will be announced Nov. 5, 2026.

Why it matters: - The finalist spots spotlight the Data Foundation’s work on public data systems that shape climate planning, federal oversight and evidence-based policymaking. - The recognition also puts a nonprofit data policy group in front of a global audience as Anthem Awards public voting opens.

What happened: - The Data Foundation was named a finalist in three categories of the 6th Annual Anthem Awards. - The categories are Content & Media, Technology (Nonprofit); Individual Recognition, Sustainability, Environment & Climate (Nonprofit); and Community Engagement, Sustainability, Environment & Climate (Nonprofit). - Two finalist entries recognize the Data Foundation’s Center for Climate and Environmental Data and Senior Director Sonia Wang. - The third finalist entry recognizes the organization’s federal data infrastructure work, including the Center for Evidence Capacity’s Evidence Act Hub and AI assistant Evi.

The details: - “Building the Data Infrastructure Behind Climate and Environmental Decisions” is a finalist in two categories. - The individual recognition entry highlights Wang’s leadership of a nonpartisan program that treats climate and environmental data as economic infrastructure. - The program focuses on information insurers, investors and governments use to price risk, plan and comply. - The partnership entry recognizes CCED’s work convening government, industry, academia and civil society around data standards, governance and access problems. - Under Wang’s leadership, CCED launched the Greenhouse Gas Coalition, which has more than 80 members from more than 35 organizations. - CCED has built partnerships with universities and federal agencies and has incubated and supported four other cross-sector initiatives. - In 2026, Wang led the transition of the Climate Data Collaborative into CCED. - CCED has convened or contributed to more than 30 events and published more than 15 pieces of work. - The center has also been featured in outlets including The New York Times, MIT Technology Review, Politico and Grist. - “The Data Foundation – America's Nonpartisan Standard for Public Data Infrastructure” is a finalist for Excellence in Data in Content & Media, Technology. - That entry recognizes research on federal datasets used for weather forecasts, disease surveillance and economic measurement. - The work includes six consecutive annual federal Chief Data Officer surveys that sampled hundreds of federal data leaders. - It also includes the People’s Data 100, which prioritizes the nation’s highest-value public datasets. - The entry features govDATAx and the Datum Awards, which convene the field. - The Center for Evidence Capacity launched the Evidence Act Hub in December 2025 as a public archive of federal evidence-building documents. - The Hub collects documents produced under the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018. - In July 2026, the Data Foundation launched Evi, an AI assistant that helps users search and analyze learning agendas, evaluation plans and capacity assessments stored on the Hub. - Evi provides a citation to the source document for every answer.

Between the lines: - The three nominations show the Data Foundation trying to connect two policy lanes: climate data usability and federal evidence infrastructure. - The Anthem recognition also validates tools built for practitioners, not just reports and research. - The organization’s emphasis on citations, archives and standards signals a focus on trust and reuse, not only access.

What's next: - Anthem Community Voice voting runs through Oct. 29 at celebrate.anthemawards.com. - Supporters can click “celebrate” under an entry, and one vote is allowed per category. - The Data Foundation’s three finalist entries require three separate votes to back all of them. - Gold, Silver and Bronze winners will be selected by Anthem judges and announced Nov. 5, 2026. - To vote for the Data Foundation, supporters can use the nomination page. - The Anthem Awards finalists were chosen from more than 2,500 submissions from more than 40 countries. - Anthem judges include leaders from organizations and companies focused on social impact.

The bottom line: - The Data Foundation is being recognized not just for research, but for building public data tools and partnerships designed to make federal and climate information more usable.