Big Data, Big Plans

Did you know the federal government is developing a national strategy to guide agencies’ Big Data research and development programs, policies and investments over the next five to 10 years?

The Big Data Senior Steering Group at the National Coordination Office for Networking and Information Technology Research and Development (NITRD) is spearheading the effort. The group released a draft of the National Big Data R&D Strategic Plan in October, but more work is ahead.

The steering group and its member agencies envision an ecosystem in which agencies are empowered to make decisions and discoveries based on data sets that are large and diverse and can be accessed in real time, according to the draft plan. Another priority is educating the next generation of scientists and engineers.