Data Science Brain Trust

To best leverage existing resources, the Data Science Brain Trust partnership facilitates many ways Virginia government can engage with data science partners.

Description

The Data Science Brain Trust is a collaborative relationship between the commonwealth's Chief Data Officer and research universities, agencies and innovative businesses.

Subject matter experts from agencies and organizations have the opportunity to proactively work with university faculty and business partners to develop research proposals that address identified problems, both short and long term.

Projects will be guided by a strategic plan developed by the commonwealth and the Brain Trust partners.

Although some agencies have made significant human capital, technical and financial investments in data analytics, most agencies do not have the resources necessary to implement data analytics on their own.

To best leverage existing resources, the Data Science Brain Trust partnership facilitates many ways Virginia government can engage with data science partners, including:

• Work study students: Available for a nominal cost to support small-scale projects with well-defined tasks, usually completed within an academic semester. Students work one-on-one with a sponsor to complete tasks that support a data governance or data analytics project.
• Graduate Student Theses/Dissertations: Virginia has the option to engage graduate students as they are working on their master’s theses or dissertations. These are usually 1 to 3-year projects; students work on independent research with guidance of a faculty member and an agency sponsor. Government provides the problem context and funding; the student and faculty advisor define the research methodology and develop the algorithms.
• Multidisciplinary, Large-Scale Problems: Subject matter experts from commonwealth organizations can proactively work with university faculty and business partners to develop research proposals that address large-scale problems. These are 3 to 7-year projects which support graduate students and scientific research, while addressing complex problems. Funding is usually provided by federal institutions and private organizations, with cost-sharing support provided by the commonwealth. 

Related Initiatives

Unrestrained Crash Data

Research data to help reduce crash fatalities and inj

Stakeholder Identification

Initiate conversations with stakeholders within Virginia to clearly depict the need and properly prepare for Data Sharing in the future.

Secure Information Sharing

A secure environment will act as Virginia's data hub, providing a common point of interaction.