Posts Tagged: analytics

Better Data, Better Decisions

In the Next Generation of Government Training Summit session, “Analyzing Data to Make Better Decisions,” Kirsten Dalboe, MGMT Cube Program Manager at DHS, and Gray Brooks, Senior API Strategist at GSA, shared their successes with using data to improve performance and efficiency. Kirsten was the “data scientist” behind the DHS Management Cube, which integrates financial,Read… Read more »

Can We Focus on What Works?

Can we shift the conversation in Washington from “waste, fraud, and abuse” to “what works and let’s fund it, instead?” Recently, I attended a Senate hearing on wasteful spending in the federal government.  Some of the witnesses pointed to examples such as the legislative requirement that the Defense Department ship coal to Germany to heatRead… Read more »

STEM vs Humanities: Why Both are Needed for Analytics

A national conversation is continuing to brew over whether Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) skills should be emphasized in schools and universities over humanities and liberal arts education. Several recent studies have found that the perceived higher marketplace value of STEM skills has led to a drop in the percentage of students pursuing humanitiesRead… Read more »

One Size Fits None – Are the Database Elephants Toast?

This past March, the Association for Computing Machinery announced that its 2014 Turing Award would go to Dr. Michael Stonebraker. As a Google V.P. put it (Google puts up the $1M cash prize that goes with the award), “The efficient and effective management of Big Data is crucial to our 21st century global economy …Read… Read more »

5 Cool Federal Dashboards (and 2 Awesome Agency Ones)

In December 2009, the Open Government Directive established deadlines for federal agencies to make quality information available to the public, all in the name of greater transparency. Recovery.gov was one of the leaders of this open government charge, and was actually established in February 2009, ahead of the directive. Today, there are a number ofRead… Read more »

Why You Need a Data Strategy

NASA has a lot of data. Understatement, right? In pursuit of its exploration mission, NASA has generated, collected and compiled a vast amount of data through the eyes of satellites, telescopes, robots, spacecraft, wind tunnels, laboratories and the cameras of astronauts that has helped us better understand Earth, other planets, and the depths of space.Read… Read more »

Statistical Spot Checks for Your Agency’s Diversity Profile

Maintaining a diverse federal workforce and eliminating barriers to equal employment opportunity are not only required practices for federal agencies under the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s Management Directive 715, but are also crucial to encouraging a more effective and creative workforce with less internal strife. The private sector is now investing heavily in diversity programsRead… Read more »