Neil Cooke: Building a Connected Data Community in Texas
Neil Cooke, Chief Data Officer for the State of Texas, believes better government starts with better information. From his early days in field operations to his later leadership of statewide data strategy, Cooke’s guiding principle has remained constant: when data is clean, connected, and trusted, services become faster, decisions become smarter, and residents feel the difference. “Fix the data, and you unlock better decisions—often without adding staff or budget,” says Cooke.
From Operations to Outcomes
Cooke’s career began in service delivery, where tight resources made efficiency non-negotiable. He saw good teams miss targets not for lack of effort, but because the data beneath their work was fragmented, inconsistent, or simply inaccessible. Connecting systems and improving data quality changed that. In one program, his team increased regional service delivery by at least 20 percent, without overtime or new hires. This proved that data management is not a side project; it’s foundational to effective government.
Leading Through Community
Texas’ scale and diversity mean no single team can transform data practice alone. Cooke’s approach centers on community and standards, bringing together data officers, records managers, privacy and security leaders, legal counsel, and program owners to solve common problems once and share the playbook widely. “Because data is a shared strategic asset, we’ve all got a role in managing it,” Cooke says.
Three leadership lessons guide him:
- Anchor decisions to outcomes. Deliver visible wins that frontline staff and leaders can point to with confidence.
- Bring everyone to the table early. Align governance, privacy, security, and definitions upfront.
- Make progress visible. When teams see quality rise and cycle times fall, momentum builds.
Turning Policy Into Practice
In 2021, Texas created the Data Management Advisory Committee (DMAC) and designated data management officers across agencies. Today, more than 100 professionals collaborate through the DMAC on shared principles and tools, ranging from standard data-sharing terms and governance templates to white papers such as “Data Sharing Best Practices.”
The Texas Open Data Portal shows how openness drives value. Agencies publish high-value datasets and pair them with interactive stories that connect data to outcomes. One agency reported a 75 percent drop in public information requests after shifting more information online, thereby reducing staff workload and improving transparency for residents.
To track progress system-wide, Texas developed a Data Management and Analytics Maturity Assessment that covers governance, architecture, quality, privacy, and security. Beginning in 2026, agencies will submit assessments biennially, giving leaders a statewide view of strengths and gaps to target support where it is needed most.
Strategy at the Intersection
Cooke’s strategy focuses on where operations, technology, and policy meet:
- Operations: Start with how services really work, what information teams need, and where decisions stall.
- Technology: Strengthen secure data movement and usability through shared platforms, better metadata, and modern interfaces.
- Policy: Use statewide structures like the DMAC to keep governance, privacy, and security aligned, so progress survives changes in leadership or priorities.
When those pieces move together, strategy becomes delivery, and Texans experience faster, clearer, more consistent services.
Equity and Accessibility by Design
Texas is intentional about ensuring small and rural agencies benefit from statewide data initiatives. The Chief Experience Office utilizes customer-journey mapping and coordinated outreach to identify pain points and enhance program accessibility. Regular convenings with small agencies, ready-to-use templates, and the Texas Data Literacy Program help teams meet privacy, security, and records standards, even without dedicated staff. Materials are written in plain language, designed for accessibility and low-bandwidth environments, and supported by continuing education and webinars—no one has to figure it out alone.
Overcoming the Collaboration Challenge
Texas’ federated environment creates variation in systems, capabilities, and terminology across agencies. The answer isn’t one-size-fits-all; it’s shared standards, tools, and trust. The DMAC has even advanced legislative tweaks, while the maturity assessment and literacy programs give agencies a common yardstick and language. Collaboration becomes routine instead of a special project when teams have clear expectations, the means to measure progress, and confidence in their privacy and security approaches. “When standards and safeguards are understood from the start, projects move faster within trusted guardrails,” Cooke says.
Responsible AI With Guardrails
Artificial intelligence (AI) is moving from pilot to practice in Texas. The Texas Innovation and Education Center, which evolved from the state’s Artificial Intelligence Center of Excellence, showcases how to build skills in robotic process automation, natural language processing, and computer vision. The recently appointed Public Sector Artificial Intelligence Systems Advisory Board assists state agencies with AI use and a new Artificial Intelligence Division at the Department of Information Resources (DIR) will work to formalize expertise and oversight. For Cooke, AI reinforces a core truth: governance matters. The effectiveness and fairness of AI depend on well-managed data quality, classification, stewardship, and transparency.
Culture, Motivation, and Mission
Cooke is motivated by tangible improvements, like smoother processes, more reliable data, and faster service delivery. He credits a mission-driven culture at DIR, recognized as a top workplace and supported by its People and Culture Office, with empowering teams to test ideas and drive improvement. He’s equally energized by the statewide network that’s grown around data user groups, open data communities, and working sessions where practitioners share lessons and align.
Advice to Emerging Leaders
His guidance to students and early-career professionals in data or civic tech is pragmatic:
- Start with a mission. If the work doesn’t improve service delivery, rethink the problem.
- Master the craft. Tools change, but the fundamentals of data management endure.
- Speak plainly. Translate complex ideas into clear, actionable language.
- Join the community. Standards and progress flow where people collaborate.
A Framework That Lasts
Cooke hopes his legacy will be a framework that agencies of every size can use with confidence, featuring clear policy, practical guidance, and resources. Doing this would turn good intentions into durable practice—linking data and trust, and making collaboration the default. Ultimately, the long-term challenge that drives Cooke is improving data management maturity across a diverse landscape, meeting agencies where they are, and helping them take the next step. “Data management is a program, not a project,” he says. “When better data becomes the norm, government works better for everyone.”