Making Policy Decisions in the Era of Big Data:
Understanding Data Science
Co-presenter:
Dr. Steve DelCastillo PhD, Director, The Center in New Directions in Politics and Public Policy at the University of Colorado Denver
The session will provide an overview of the world of big data, description of strategies for using Data Science to organize mounds of data and use predictive analytics to provide options for policy and management decisions. Making policy decisions requires having relevant, comprehensive, and accurate data. As a matter of practice, the presenters will use a “real life” problem to lay out a framework for making policy and management decisions.
Making Policy Decisions in the Era of Big Data:
Understanding Data Science
Co-presenter:
Dr. Diane Fritz PhD, Geospatial Data Scientist, Auraria Library | Lecturer, GES Department, University of Colorado Denver | Director, Data to Policy Project
Dr. Diane Fritz serves as the Geospatial Data Scientist at Auraria Library, an academic library that serves all three institutions on Auraria Campus: CU Denver, MSU Denver and Denver Community College. She helps faculty and students work with many aspects of data for their research, from acquisition to visualization to preservation. She is the director of the Data to Policy Project hosted out of Auraria Library, helping students become familiar with using public data for public good.
Dr. Fritz holds a PhD from the University of Colorado Boulder in Earth Sciences and has taught courses in geospatial technology at that university as well as at the University of Colorado Denver. She is a member of the OpenStreetMap U.S. Board, spending time working on building quality open data in the global OSM dataset. She helps lead the CU Denver Data Science Community Hub and runs the mapping meetup group Maptime Mile High.
Strategic Thinking: An Essential Problem Solving and
Decision-making Skill
Presenter: Jennifer Phillips, Assistant Director, CDOT & Former City Manager
Strategic thinking skills are among the most highly sought after leadership skills. Why? Because leaders capable of thinking critically, logically, and strategically can have a tremendous impact on an organization’s success. This session will help create a foundation for building and strengthening your strategic thinking, problem solving and decision making skills!