In a new book, the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco and the Urban Institute explore data collection trends in the community development field. The book, What Counts, brings together essays on data collection and use from a wide range of authors, including community development practitioners, regulators and academics. Among the recurring themes in the essays are the promise of the massive troves of data now available to the public — and the challenges of harnessing it safely and usefully. Authors describe a trend toward standardization in the collection of community development impact data, balancing nuance with practicality. Authors also expressed optimism for the promise of data sharing via open data policies.