This document summarizes a presentation given by Peter Fontaine of the Congressional Budget Office on best practices for visualizing and communicating data through visual stories and summaries. It discusses tools for creating different types of visualizations like charts, graphs, and infographics and tailoring visuals to different audiences like members of Congress. It also provides examples of effective CBO visualizations and references guidelines for showing data clearly without unnecessary clutter or misrepresentation.
Powering Britain: Can we decarbonise electricity without disadvantaging poore...
CBO's Use of Visualization to Communicate Budget Data
1. Congressional Budget Office
Telling Visual Stories About Data
Presentation for the:
Seminar on Independent Budget Analysis & Transparency
A Global Network of Parliamentary Budget Offices Community Meeting
Peter Fontaine
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis
June 2014
35. Show the Data
Jacob Klerman and Caroline Danielson, Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 2011
36. Show the Data
Jacob Klerman and Caroline Danielson, Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 2011
0-axis thicker
than data line
37. Show the Data
Jacob Klerman and Caroline Danielson, Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 2011
Tick marks probably
unnecessary
0-axis thicker
than data line
38. Show the Data
Jacob Klerman and Caroline Danielson, Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 2011
Label and %-sign
are redundant0-axis thicker
than data line
Tick marks probably
unnecessary
39. Show the Data
Jacob Klerman and Caroline Danielson, Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 2011
Abbreviations make
comprehension difficult
0-axis thicker
than data line
Tick marks probably
unnecessary
Label and %-sign
are redundant
40. Show the Data
Jacob Klerman and Caroline Danielson, Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 2011
Data points are
outside the axis
bounds
0-axis thicker
than data line
Tick marks probably
unnecessary
Label and %-sign
are redundant
Abbreviations make
comprehension difficult
41. Implied Impulse Response Functions for Different Caseloads
(Percentage change in caseload)
-20
-10
0
10
20
0 1 2 3 4 5
Years
Adult Only
0 1 2 3 4 5
Years
No Cash
-20
-10
0
10
20
0 1 2 3 4 5
Years
Welfare Cash Assistance
0 1 2 3 4 5
Years
SSI Cash Assistance
Show the Data
51. Is the figure understandable
outside the confines of the
report?
52. The purpose of visualization is
insight, not pictures
-Ben Shneiderman
53. References
Slide
7. CBO, The Budget and Economic Outlook: 2014 to 2024,
www.cbo.gov/publication/45010, February 2014
8-9. CBO, Social Security Policy Options,
www.cbo.gov/publication/21547, July 2010
10. CBO, A Premium Support System for Medicare: Analysis of Illustrative Options,
www.cbo.gov/publication/44581, September 2013
11. CBO, The Budget and Economic Outlook: 2014 to 2024,
www.cbo.gov/publication/45010, February 2014
13. CBO, Rising Demand for Long-Term Services and Supports for Elderly People,
www.cbo.gov/publication/44363, June 2013
14-15. CBO, The Distribution of Federal Spending and Taxes in 2006,
www.cbo.gov/publication/44698, November 2013
17. CBO, Snapshot of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program,
www.cbo.gov/publication/44131, April 2013
18. CBO, Snapshot of Unemployment Benefits,
www.cbo.gov/publication/44096, March 2013
54. References, continued
Slide
20. CBO, Federal Health Care Spending: Why Is It Growing? What Could Be Done About It?
www.cbo.gov/publication/44761 , September 2013
21. CBO, Federal Health Care Spending: Why Is It Growing? What Could Be Done About It?
www.cbo.gov/publication/45144, February 2014
22. CBO, The Federal Budget: Outlook and Challenges,
www.cbo.gov/publication/44378, June 2013
24-27. CBO, The U.S. Federal Budget: Infographic,
www.cbo.gov/publication/42636, December 2011
28-32. CBO, Federal Means-Tested Programs and Tax Credits—Infographic,
www.cbo.gov/publication/43935, February 2013
33. CBO, The Long-Term Budget Outlook: Infographic,
www.cbo.gov/publication/43289, June 2012
35-45. Jonathan Schwabish, “An Economist’s Guide to Visualizing Data,” Journal of Economic
Perspectives, www.aeaweb.org/articles.php?doi=10.1257/jep.28.1.209, Winter
2014