Big Data

The Big Data Interagency Working Group (BD IWG) was formed in 2011 to coordinate Federal BD R&D across 17 participating agencies to enable extraction of knowledge and insights of large, diverse, real-time data for an effective analysis, decision making, and discovery. Guided by the Federal Big Data Research and Development Strategic Plan, the IWG focuses on the capabilities to collect, store, access, analyze, reuse, and provide governance for big data that will accelerate scientific discovery and innovation, lead to new areas of research and inquiry, provide vast resources to enhance national security, and create new capabilities that support economic growth and novel solutions to pressing national issues.

Strategic Priorities

• Maximize use of large-scale data resources through foundational research into innovative tools and methodologies to solve problems of national and societal importance.
• Establish the trustworthiness of data-driven discovery and decision-making to ensure reliability, accuracy, generalizability, and performance in solutions to drive S&T, and the industries of the future.
• Enable the interoperability of diverse data types and sources that is scalable and enables data integration among heterogeneous datasets to support innovative solutions.
• Support real-time analytics by reducing latency between data ingest, analysis, and decision-making.
• Develop and retain a data-literate workforce through improved education and training opportunities.
• Transition research to practice by translating R&D into operational tools and technologies that enhance U.S. economy, security, and well-being.