Day 1: Wednesday, September 18, 2013 |
REGISTRATION & BREAKFAST
8:15-8:30am • Room: Atrium Ballroom B
WELCOME REMARKS
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8:30-9:00am • Room: Atrium Ballroom B
KEYNOTE
The Digital Accountability and Transparency Act
The bipartisan Digital Accountability and Transparency Act (DATA Act) will make federal spending data publically available and easily accessible. The legislation establishes governmentwide financial data standards and improves the management and completeness of USASpending.gov, a transparency portal created in 2006 by legislation sponsored by Senator Tom Coburn, R-Okla., and then-Senator Barack Obama, D-Illi. With more complete and better structured data, the federal government will be able to use predictive analytic tools already deployed by states, localities and the private sector to detect fraud, waste, and abuse and optimize the impact of taxpayer dollars.
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9:00-9:30am • Room: Atrium Ballroom B
KEYNOTE
The Path of the Digital Arrow
The forces and currents of the digital age and globalism are resulting in an era of imaginative possibilities and worrisome vulnerabilities. Against this backdrop government is poised at the edge of a significant reduction in its role and the size. Fortunately there has never been a better time to do much more with much less. Looming before us is the race to fill the gap left by smaller government with the promise of automated solutions driven by data analytics and the ability to draw intelligence from big data.
9:30-10:00am • Room: Atrium Ballroom B
PLENARY SESSION
iShore: Using Analytics to Further the Mission
The Commander of Commander Navy Installations Command (CNIC), founded in 2003, wanted his professionals to be able to make fact based decisions based on authoritative data. Specifically, the Commander wanted his leaders and managers to be able to understand the cost and value of the 122 products and services (approximate budget of $12B - Appropriated and Non Appropriated) that his command delivers to his customers (Fleet/Fighters/Family) so they could improve their service delivery maturity and make informed trade-off decisions on what and how much to deliver as budget environments tightened. However, CNIC had an antiquated Information Technology Infrastructure that had reached its end-of-life and questionable authoritative data stuck in legacy systems. To further CNIC's mission with Analytics, in the fall of 2009, the CNIC teamed with Deloitte to design, develop, and operate a visionary Enterprise Information Management Architecture that is helping the command turn data into information, information into knowledge, and knowledge into insight and foresight. During the three and a half year journey, CNIC and Deloitte have changed leaders and managers' minds about what is possible, and continue to further the mission through better analytics.
Steven Surell, Enterprise Information Management Lead, Commander for Naval Installations Command (CNIC), U.S. Navy
BREAK
10:30-10:35am • Room: Atrium Ballroom B
GENERAL/MANAGEMENT TRACK Sponsored by 
10:30-10:35am • Room: Atrium Ballroom A
TECHNICAL TRACK Sponsored by 
10:35-11:20am • Room: Atrium Ballroom B
GENERAL/MANAGEMENT TRACK
Overcoming Obstacles to Implementing Advanced Analytics
The USPS OIG was one of the first analytics teams in the federal government, charting new ground as they built relationships, accessed data within an agency structure, and worked to quantify returns on their work. Many of the lessons they learned in building and maturing their team are applicable to other government agencies as well as public organizations. This session focuses on key leadership concepts utilized by the USPS OIG data mining team as their program matured from a small boutique operation to a fully successful mission critical program.
Jason Miller, Executive Editor, Federal News Radio
10:35-11:20am • Room: Atrium Ballroom A
TECHNICAL TRACK
Risk Assessment in the Brokerage Industry
The application of predictive analytics is becoming more and more prevalent for regulators, who are being squeezed between the lack of financial resources on one side, and increasingly complex and sophisticated capital markets on the other. The ongoing efforts undertaken by the SEC - and its newly created Division of Economic and Risk Analysis (DERA) - to integrate financial economics and rigorous data analytics into its core mission have produced several initiatives across multiple registrant spaces. This presentation will walk the audience through the challenges faced by the SEC in assessing risk and preventing fraud in the brokerage industry. The presentation will highlight the design issues encountered by DERA in the creation of a Broker-Dealers Risk Assessment program for the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE), from hypothesis development to hypothesis testing and from type I and type II errors trade-offs to model selection and model validation. The program does not automatically trigger investigations; rather, it provides a predictor of risk to OCIE examiners, who apply their expertise to interpret and eventually utilize when prioritizing inspections and examinations with limited resources.
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11:20am-12:05pm • Room: Atrium Ballroom B
GENERAL/MANAGEMENT TRACK
Test and Learn: Analytics Strategy and Results at IRS
Analytic organizations in government face an array of challenges, from staffing, to budget, to their role and relevance within the broader organization. The IRS Office of Compliance Analytics has forged relationships with senior operational leaders and achieved measurable bottom-line success by strategically identifying and solving the highest value problems facing the Service. An essential ingredient in sustained success is building a "test and learn" culture. Effective testing lowers risk, accelerates implementation and enables productive innovation. Doing more with less in government requires correctly framing impactful, strategic questions; more frequent and better use of data analysis to drive decision-making; and a strategy for developing and utilizing testing to materially enhance results.
11:20am-12:05pm • Room: Atrium Ballroom A
TECHNICAL TRACK
Text Mining Case Studies from Federal Agencies
"Text Mining" can mean different things to different practitioners, as the rapidly growing field encompasses a wide range of technologies and applications. We find there to be seven distinct practice areas – such as information retrieval and document classification — which employ very different goals, terminology, and technology. In this talk, we discuss how we mapped problems such as personnel evaluation and fraud-detection into specific text mining areas. We include successful case studies from the USPS OIG and the Department of Defense.
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12:05-1:00pm • Room: Atrium
Lunch
12:05-1:00pm • Room: Atrium Ballroom A
Lunch & Learn
High-Performance Analytics
Federal agencies are dealing with the worldwide exponential growth of data of all types - structured and unstructured - flooding into their organizations. And the pressure is on to use this big data not only to gain better insights, but also to improve operational and mission outcomes.
In this session, SAS experts will share how your organization can use high-performance analytics to better identify trends and patterns buried in your data, reveal the answers to your most complex questions, and quickly identify opportunities to turn information into action.
The live demonstrations of high-performance analytics and predictive modeling will feature specific examples that highlight how agencies can move from a reactive to a predict-and-prevent environment.
SAS® High-Performance Analytics for Readmissions
One of the key capabilities needed to improve health outcomes and reduce costs is predictive analytics. This demonstration showcases the application of SAS® High-Performance Data Mining to identify individuals who are at high risk of returning to the hospital within 30 days of discharge. It clearly illustrates the performance and productivity gains of fast distributed processing to help solve the problem of hospital readmissions.- Saving Lives with SAS® Visual Analytics This demonstration uses SAS Visual Analytics and risk models to present a hypothetical case study using a data set that contains information about accidents, inspections and violations. We'll detect possible patterns of violations (POVs) or significant and substantial violations to determine which specific locations are at risk of receiving a POV notice and evaluate the effective allocation of resources.
SAS High-Performance Analytics can play a key part in ensuring that a federal agency can successfully identify where it should focus its investigatory efforts and enforce its rules and regulations, thus saving taxpayer dollars and reducing injuries.
Manuel Figallo, Senior Systems Engineer, SAS Federal
1:00-1:30pm • Room: Atrium Ballroom B
PLENARY SESSION
Lessons We Can Learn From Quantitative Stock Trading
Beating the market with skill, rather than luck, is so hard that it's arguably impossible. A strong working approximation is that markets are efficient - that prices reflect available information almost instantaneously. Accordingly, we have failed often. But our success building quantitative investment systems has been great - most notably with a hedge fund that beat the S&P-500 every year for a decade, with only 2/3rds the risk (volatility). This talk will highlight key lessons learned from the long battle, and how those insights have helped solve many other predictive analytics challenges.
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1:30-2:00pm • Room: Atrium Ballroom B
PLENARY PANEL
Developing an Analytics Framework and Measuring Success
This panel of government executives who have each started advanced analytics capabilities within their organization will discuss the following questions and topics:
- How did you set up a process or discipline to manage your analytics group?
- Who in your organization asks the questions that lead to analytical projects?
- What are the stumbling blocks of getting the data analytics team more integrated into the business instead of on the sidelines?
- How does your analytics group transition over time? Is it an internal or external function to your organization?
- How do you know and others know that you are successful? How do you define success to senior leadership to get their buy-in?
Speakers: Bryan Jones, Director, Countermeasures and Performance Evaluation (CAPE), U.S. Postal Service OIG
Michael Wood, Executive Director, Recovery and Accountability Board
Greg Elin, Chief Data Officer, FCC
2:30-3:00pm • Room: Atrium Ballroom B
PLENARY SESSION
US Postal Service - Analytics Deliver Insight for Improved Sales
USPS is using their customer data as a strategic asset and has developed a Predictive Analytics program to drive improved sales force effectiveness, overall sales revenue, and to pro-actively treat at risk customers before they churn.
Jane Turnbull, Senior Manager Accenture Federal Services
3:00-3:30pm • Room: Atrium
BREAK
3:30-4:15pm • Room: Atrium Ballroom B
GENERAL/MANAGEMENT TRACK
Open Data Reforms in Federal Finance, Regulation, and Beyond: An Opportunity for Analytics
3:30-4:15pm • Room: Atrium Ballroom A
TECHNICAL TRACK
Defense Logistics Agency Overview and System of
Integrated Metrics Analysis Model Presentation
This session will provide an overview on the Defense Logistics Agency and how DLA uses data in analyses. It will provide a high level capability brief for the Agency's analytic group (DLA Operations Research and Resource Analysis (DORRA)). The session will end with a presentation of the System of Integrated Metrics Analysis Model (SIMAN). This model was developed by DORRA in support of Agency analyses. SIMAN is an item-level simulation model that shows interrelationships between DLA metrics. It simulates on-hand balances, demands, unfilled orders/backorders, and ordering process over time for individual items. SIMAN runs using Arena simulation software.
Andrew Rose, Operations Research and Research Analysis, Defense Logistics Agency
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4:30-5:15pm • Room: Atrium Ballroom B
GENERAL/MANAGEMENT TRACK
From Instinct to Analysis: Building an Analytics Capability in the Federal Government
Federal government agencies are increasingly looking to drive improved performance through the use of data and analysis. There are many challenges, however, to the development of an analytics capability and even more to the adoption of a true data-driven culture in the Federal government. Through a discussion of the development of an analytics capability at Treasury's Bureau of the Fiscal Service and examples of specific projects currently underway, this presentation will explore those challenges and identify potential ways they might be mitigated.
4:30-5:15pm • Room: Atrium Ballroom A
TECHNICAL TRACK
Equipment Diagnostic Analysis Tool (CEDAT) and Predictive Analytics: Ensuring Tactical Electrical Power for Warfighters
Soldiers in Afghanistan depend on diesel generators to power the weapon systems that keep them alive. Condition-based Maintenance (CBM) initiatives can reduce down-time by intensively managing failures. Predictive Analytics provides the underpinnings for CBM by quantifying the remaining useful life (RUL) of diesel engines and components. The challenges are to find valid external indicators for internal degradation, to understand how engine life is affected by sub-optimal operation cycles, to set alarm thresholds, and to diagnose impending component failures based on those thresholds. CEDAT is an expert system designed and built to encode knowledge on diesel engine predictive analytics and diagnostics.
Dr. Suzanne Mahoney, Senior Principal Analyst, Innovative Decisions, Inc.
5:15-6:15pm • Room: Atrium
NETWORKING RECEPTION
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Day 2: Thursday, September 19, 2013 |
7:10-8:10am • Room: Atrium
REGISTRATION & BREAKFAST
8:10-8:15am • Room: Atrium Ballroom B
CONFERENCE CHAIR WELCOME REMARKS
8:15-8:45am • Room: Atrium Ballroom B
KEYNOTE
Data Analytics for Government Oversight
The effective analytics of data is a key element in the assessment of fraud, waste and abuse in federal programs, as well as in the assessment of program performance. While there is a significant amount of information the government can use to support these efforts, identifying what data are available and finding ways to analyze and use the data effectively can be challenging. The Comptroller General will discuss why data analytics is important to oversight, as well as challenges and opportunities in accessing, using and sharing data.
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8:45-9:45am • Room: Atrium Ballroom B
PLENARY PANEL
Working Horizontally: Analytics as a Bridge
Agency leaders from multiple functions (business, analytics, IT/CIO) will discuss how to build an analytics function that works horizontally across your organization. In order to implement analytics into your organization and have a large impact, it is critical to have buy-in and engagement from multiple divisions in your agency. Topics and questions discussed in this panel will include:
- The words analytics and big data are being thrown around very loosely with hundreds of definitions driving them. How do you define analytics and big data to others in your organization?
- What are the challenges created by a lack of collaboration across divisions when managing an analytics group?
- What are the differences in the goals and perspectives of the divisions (analytics, business, IT, senior management) that shape their views toward analytics?
- How can you build bridges to overcome barriers between divisions (IT, business, operations, senior management)?
David Saltiel, Chief Financial Economist and Director of Analytics, Fiscal Service, Department of Treasury
9:45-10:15am • Room: Atrium Ballroom B
PLENARY SESSION
Using Social Data for Public Sector Analytics
For the first time in history, social media provides organizations with access in realtime to what a massive number of people are thinking and doing around the world. Social media is more than friends telling each other what they had for breakfast. Through social media, people provide us insight into what they're reading and watching, provide us their perspectives on current events, tell us where they're socializing, and more. Online social media provides valuable information about events and the citizens that are impacted by those events. It stands to have an enormous impact on the Public Sector, as organizations learn how to monitor and analyze social media data for social good. To extract actionable information from social media, organizations in the Public Sector need reliable access to comprehensive, real-time social data - the underlying data from social media platforms. This session will explore the social data ecosystem and will highlight some practical use cases associated with the Public Sector.
10:15-10:45am • Room: Atrium
BREAK
10:45-10:50am • Room: Atrium Ballroom B
Track Sponsored by TBA
10:50-11:35am • Room: Atrium Ballroom B
GENERAL/MANAGEMENT TRACK
There's No Such Thing as Big Data
It's like an irritating fly buzzing around your head – "Big Data". Do I have to hear the term one more time? As a Data Scientist who interacts with hard data problems on a daily basis, the term, "Big Data", has little meaning to me since it lacks any precise definition or structure, the normal comfort food for my mathematical mind. However, I appreciate that the term is "out there" and people who are trying to make sense of the mess of data flowing towards them are searching for a common language to discuss their specific challenges. I hope to help by explaining some of the key language circulating around Big Data concepts – the next level of detail in the Big Data discussion.
10:50-11:35am • Room: Atrium Ballroom A
TECHNICAL TRACK
Predictive Analytics for Veteran Population Projection Model
Lijia Guo will present a case study that demonstrates how predictive modeling tools can be used to build a veteran projection model and how it can help enhance the VA's business analytic capacity to improve veteran services.
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11:35am-12:20pm • Room: Atrium Ballroom B
GENERAL/MANAGEMENT TRACK
Case Study: Data to Decisions: Building Data Analytics Capability in the Department of Defense
For the past several years, the Department of Defense established a Defense Science and Technology Priority Area called Data to Decisions. Simply stated, this priority emphasizes the science and applications to reduce the cycle time and manpower requirements to effectively analyze and use increasing amounts of information and large data sets. Initial focus was applied to the large amount of sensor information collected through the advancement of sensor research and the application of commercial technology. A much wider scope is now considered to include contextual information from open sources as well as other widely available unstructured data. This research can be applied to many warfighting mission areas as well as business domains within the Department of Defense. David Jakubek will provide a review of the analysis conducted as well as research efforts within this priority area.
11:35am-12:20pm • Room: Atrium Ballroom A
TECHNICAL TRACK
The High ROI of Data Analytics on a Multi-Agency Data Warehouse at the State of Michigan
The State of Michigan is estimated to be seeing ROI of $1M per day and setting an example for all state governments on the benefits of sharing data across agencies. Today, 10,000 users across 21 agencies are delivering better service to citizens and reducing costs traditionally borne by taxpayers by drawing new insights from a single Integrated Data Warehouse (IDW). By integrating its data, Michigan is also realizing one of the highest returns on any investment in a Teradata data warehouse in recent history – thanks to the innovative approach of its Data Operations team.
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12:20-1:15pm • Room: Atrium
LUNCH
1:15-2:00pm • Room: Atrium Ballroom B
KEYNOTE
Predictive Analytics in Medicare
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services implemented predictive analytics in the Medicare fee-for-service program in 2011 pursuant to the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010. The Fraud Prevention System is one part of a larger strategy to prevent fraud, waste, and abuse. Ms. Gent will be providing discussing the status of the Fraud Prevention System in CMS' program integrity efforts.
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2:00-3:00pm • Room: Atrium Ballroom B
INDUSTRY EXPERT PANEL
Session description is coming soon!
Speakers: Bill Franks, Chief Analytics Officer, Teradata
Chris D'Errico, Senior Manager, Accenture Federal Services
Bharat R Rao, Ph.D., Director, Deloitte Financial Advisory Services LLP
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3:00pm-3:30pm • Room: Atrium
BREAK
3:30-4:15pm • Room: Atrium Ballroom B
GENERAL/MANAGEMENT TRACK
Acquisition Visibility - The Key to Informed Decision-Making for DoD
Senior leaders in the Department of Defense need timely access to accurate, authoritative and reliable data to support major acquisition oversight, analysis, and decision-making. The Department's Acquisition Visibility efforts are tackling the challenges of getting that quality information to decision makers. Specific areas of focus include breaking down bureaucratic boundaries to provide a common understanding of data, bringing data together in a common location, and providing back-end analytics that generate immediate front-end insight for senior decision makers. Through ongoing data governance and capability development, Enterprise Information is changing the way the Department of Defense uses data for decision making.
3:30-4:15pm • Room: Atrium Ballroom A
TECHNICAL TRACK
Case Study: Obama for America
Pinpointing the Persuadables: Convincing the Right Voters to Support Barack Obama
Prior to President Obama's reelection campaign, standard practices for persuading voters—that is, changing their minds—were unscientific and driven by long-standing assumptions and hunches. Campaigns targeted broad categories of typically "independent" voters and assumed that these voters would respond to a persuasive message. That all changed with the Obama reelection. Campaign leadership knew that 2012 would be different from 2008. Turning out likely supporters was not enough; the campaign had to persuade voters that President Obama was a better choice than Mitt Romney. Daniel Porter, Director of Statistical Modeling for the Obama Campaign, will discuss how his team used the results from a large-scale randomized, controlled experiment to model which individual voters were most likely to be persuaded, and how this model served as the basis for targeting decisions across many aspects of campaign.
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4:20-5:00pm • Room: Atrium Ballroom B
GENERAL/MANAGEMENT TRACK
NSF OIG Data Analytics for Grant Oversight
Brett Baker will cover NSF OIG audit planning, approaches, communication, and automated technologies for NSF operational and grant oversight as well as the use of data analytics for enhanced grant oversight and application opportunities for oversight and accountability professionals. Upon completion of this session, participants should be able to describe the NSF OIG approach to operational and grant oversight, including its use of data analytics.
4:20-5:00pm
TECHNICAL TRACK • Room: Atrium Ballroom A
Analytic Techniques and Tools to Focus Audit Efforts at DOL OIG
This DOL-IG project represents the seed for providing a new service to the IG community to help inform their efforts on oversight of programs managed by the Department of Labor. The project focused on Workers' Compensation program data and potential risk. Steve Fowler, IT Audit Manager, will provide an overview of the project, followed by Kris Hoover discussing specific risk modeling techniques, and wrapped up by Sarah Will's overview of OLAP cubes and how they can support the audit work flow based on the information provided by the analytic models.
Sarah Will, Data Scientist, Elder Research, Inc.
Kris Hoover, Data Scientist, Elder Research, Inc.
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