big data

City police departments across the country are turning traditional police officers into “data detectives.”  Police departments across the country have adapted business techniques --  initially developed by retailers, such as Netflix and WalMart, to predict consumer behavior -- to predict criminal behavior.  A new IBM Center report, by Dr. Jennifer Bachner at Johns Hopkins University, tells compelling stories of the experiences three cities -- Santa Cruz, CA; Baltimore County, MD; and Richmond, VA – are having in using predictive policing as a new and effective tool to combat crime.

The Famine Early Warning System is an interagency network among federal agencies and the United Nations that began in 1985, using scientific data to target about $1.5 billion in food aid from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to those who need it most.  Participating federal agencies include the U.S.

Dr. Thomas Davenport, in a recent Harvard Business Review article, says “Some of us now perceive another shift, fundamental and far-reaching enough that we can fairly call it Analytics 3.0.”  What does this mean for leaders of large organizations?

The Three Phases of Analytics.  Davenport writes that the field of "analytics" has evolved over the past 60 years in three phases:

Big data should not be defined as “big” based on the size of the data alone. As defined by an important Commission on Big Data, big data is “a phenomenon that is a result of the rapid acceleration and exponential growth in the expanding volume of high velocity, complex and diverse types of data.” Organizations that do not necessarily have a large volume of data can benefit from a better understanding of the art of the possible with the new generation of analytic tools designed for big data.

This blog entry provides examples of how federal agencies and other levels of government are developing and applying big data strategies in the areas of fraud detection, financial market analysis, health related research, government oversight, education, criminology, environmental protection, and energy exploration.

Introduction

OMB Deputy Director Beth Cobert discusses importance of #SES #leadership to government performance @ombpress. http://www.govexec.com/management/2015/05/obama-management-chief-senior-execs-must-set-tone-better-performance/112834/?oref=river Cybersecurity matters for achievement of agency missions, says @usNISTgov expert Ron Ross.http://www.federalnewsradio.com/241/3857152/Cybersecurity-mission-areas-must-integrate-to-stave-off-flood-of-attacks More #procurement #transparency from @usGSA -- supports broader category management initiative.

A clear strategic focus and sound management are essential to the effective stewardship of taxpayer dollars, enabling agency decision makers to make tough choices on a day-to-day basis and for long-term management challenges. Given the critical challenges facing government today, the ability of government executives to properly align mission support functions with mission delivery can help them respond more effectively to their mission and management challenges simultaneously, as well as drive change within their department. The U.S.

Professor Alfred Ho, at the University of Kansas, recently surveyed 65 mid-size and large cities to learn what is going on, on the frontline, with the use of Big Data in making decisions.  He found that Big Data has made it possible to “change the time span of a decision-making cycle by allowing real-time analysis of data to instantly inform decision-making.”  This decision-making occurs in areas as diverse as program management, strategic planning, budgeting, performance repo