Developing Data Analytics Capabilities Conference Agenda

Keynote | AI Policy for Government- Local Government Perspective
Seamus Dowdall, Legislative Director, Telecommunications & Technology, National Association of Counties (NACo)

The National Association of Counties formed the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Exploratory Committee May 2023. The committee was tasked with analyzing the landscape of generative AI as it applies to counties. Seamus Dowdall supported the committee and as part of his keynote address, he shared insights from the recently released committee report and toolkit. The report provides helpful guidance to governments of all sizes in the use and development of AI as well as a best practices resource hub. Seamus will discuss issues facing local governments with implementing AI policy and considerations for adopting and regulating the use of GenAI in government operations and services.

Plenary Panel | Al Policy for Government- National, State & Local Perspectives
Kate Burns, Executive Director, MetroLab Network
Nikhil Deshpande, Chief Digital and AI Officer, Georgia Technology Authority
Seamus Dowdall, Legislative Director, Telecommunications & Technology, National Association of Counties (NACo)
Jason Sankey, Chief Information Officer, City of Atlanta

This panel will discuss AI policy considerations for governments and their data analysts and data scientists. Panelists will share their insights into the formulation of AI use policies. Participants will learn from Nakhil Deshpande about the Georgia Technology Authority’s guidance to state agencies on the use of AI. Joining the panel is Jason Sankey, City of Atlanta CIO, to discuss the recently formed Artificial Intelligence Commission to study the opportunities, risks, uses of AI and municipal operations. Kate Burns and Seamus Dowdall will join the panel and provide additional national perspectives on the rapidly developing landscape of AI and how governments are responding. Panelists will also discuss the critical role data stewards and analysts have in data curation and
management to maximize AI’s capabilities.

Plenary Session | Evolution of Data and AI in the Public Sector
Patrick Moore and Stephen Elsaker, Accenture

This session will explore the latest industry trends in data and AI within the public sector. The speakers will review the past year's shift from theoretical use cases to practical applications, highlighting how generative AI is becoming an integral part of daily operations for workers in the public sector. They will also demonstrate how these technologies are being implemented and discuss future trends that will continue to drive growth in this space.

Is Your Vendor System Holding Your Data Hostage?
McCall Ginsberg, Deputy General Counsel, Department of Administrative Services (DOAS)
Mike Perkins, IT Senior Manager of Apps and Data, Finance and Administration, University of Georgia
Carrie Steele, Director of Agency Sourcing, Department of Administrative Services (DOAS)

Maintenance records, electronic medical record data, program enrollment data, or other critical business data is often hosted or stored on third-party systems procured by your agency. Too often an analyst is asked to answer questions that relies on accessing that administrative data. However, that data is not easy to get out of the vendor’s system.  Another common scenario is when you are changing systems and need to get your data out of the vendor’s system to transfer it to a new vendor’s system to ensure continuity of services. However, in the original procurement, the “break-up language” and data transfer protocols for data ownership and sharing were not clear. This panel will discuss best practices and proven practices in procurement and data management to make sure you can get to your data.  

Data Governance in Local Government
Kate Burns, Executive Director, MetroLab Network
Seamus Dowdall, Legislative Director, Telecommunications & Technology, National Association of Counties (NACo)

Our keynote speakers will host a breakout session to further discuss national perspectives and lessons learned in implementing AI policy and the importance of data governance when scaling up your data analytics capabilities.

Data Standards and Lessons Learned in Developing Enterprise Analytics
Stefanie Lopez-Howard, Director, Data, Analytics, & Research, Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD)
Daphanie Scandrick-Keit, Executive Director, Office of Analytics and Program Improvement, Georgia Department of Community Health (DCH)

This session will feature efforts in two state agencies to create a more robust data analytics operation. Each presenter will share examples from their work in standing up and expanding data warehouses, standardizing data, and producing analytics and reports to support critical decision support for agency leaders.

Hazard Analysis
Lawton Brantley, IT Senior Manager, Carl Vinson Institute of Government, UGA
Brent Lanford, Chief Information Officer, Middle Georgia Regional Commission
Jimmy Nolan, Local Government Project Manager, Carl Vinson Institute of Government, UGA
Michaela Schiesser, Hazard Mitigation Planning Specialist, Georgia Emergency Management Agency/Homeland Security

Knowing areas of high risk for national disasters and estimating the physical, social, and economic impacts of earthquakes, hurricanes, tornados, and floods is critical to emergency management officials in both the preparation for and recovery after a disaster. The FEMA Hazus program is a nationally standardized risk modeling methodology. Each state is responsible for regularly updating its known high-risk data as part of the Hazus program. This session will highlight the data analytics techniques employed to support emergency managers in Georgia. Learn how the state’s Hazus program resulted in Georgia receiving more federal recovery funding for Hurricane Helene. 

Scaling Up with Generative AI: From Preparation to Implementation
Stephen Elsaker, Accenture

This session will guide organizations through the essential steps to prepare for generative AI adoption and will showcase real-world implementations to illustrate how these preparatory steps translate into successful AI integration. Attendees will leave with practical insights and actionable strategies to help their organizations scale up with generative AI.

State Purchasing Division Dashboards and Analytics
John Kreeger, Audit Manager, State Purchasing Division, Georgia Department of Administrative Services

How are you spending your money? This session will feature recent work done by the State of Georgia’s purchasing division to support their audit function by visualizing agency purchasing data into trend charts, tree maps, and other visuals. Presenters will share their journeys in creating their first round of dashboards to help leadership better understand how state agencies are procuring services to gain new insights into statewide contracts.

Beyond Waffle House: Maximizing the Potential of Data Teams through Strategic Data Partnership
Phillip Wallace, Director of Development Analytics, Office of Development, Georgia Institute of Technology

How are data teams seen and treated at your organization? As waiters who provide ad hoc data on demand, or as partners who help shape strategic action?

This presentation identifies four common personas which limit data teams’ impact on decision-making, a model of what strategic data partnership looks like, and how to shift the paradigm.

Data in Motion: Bridging the Gap Between Analytics & Execution
Rocco Pecora, Qlik

AI for Field Operations
Deloitte

Balancing Data Accessibility and Security in the Age of AI
Mark Lupo, Senior Public Service Associate, Carl Vinson Institute of Government, UGA

Data analysts are an important part of the agency’s data security team. This session will provide important information on how analysts can walk the line between making data accessible for decision-making while at the same time making sure it stays secure. The fundamentals of cybersecurity will also be discussed and how your agency or government can take advantage of the CyberArch program to assess your organization’s cybersecurity preparedness.

Use of Census Data
Taylor Hafley, Applied Demographer, Carl Vinson Institute of Government, UGA

Census data is used by analysts in a variety of ways. This session will provide information on how to access census data, important considerations when using different census data sets, and examples of how the applied demography program at the Institute of Government  uses census data to inform critical issues in the state.

GenAI is Disrupting Procurement in Unexpected Ways
Cole Wirpel, McKinsey & Company

Much of the public discussion on GenAI relates to saving time in administrative tasks, but procurement and finance leaders may miss out on substantial value if they focus only on internal productivity gains. In addition, leaders should understand how their suppliers are using GenAI and how to embed GenAI directly in value creation. This session will discuss the scale of opportunity in driving procurement savings and proven use cases organizations are implementing.

Keynote | Data Governance
Kate Burns, Executive Director, MetroLab Network

Plenary Panel | Data Governance-Enterprise Analytics Lessons from OPB and USG
Kanti Chalasani, Division Director, Georgia Data Analytics Center, Office of Planning and Budget (OPB)
Rich Loftus, Vice Chancellor Strategic Implementation, University System of Georgia (USG)

The Georgia Data Analytics Center (GDAC) was created in 2019 to be a centralized data repository to support state budget and policy decision making. As part of this session, Kanti Chalasani will share the lessons the GDAC team has learned over the past five years in setting up and managing the underlying infrastructure to support GDAC, creating data sharing protocols, expanding analytical capabilities and developing compelling dashboards.

The University System of Georgia has been working over the last few years to leverage their data to improve enterprise decision-making. Rich Loftus has helped lead the effort at USG to develop standards and the needed infrastructure to stand-up a series of dashboards and other analytics tools that inform the Board of Regents’ and Chancellor’s strategic plan and operational priorities. Rich will share some lessons learned in developing USG’s enterprise analytics capabilities and the impact on the workforce, data governance and management, and data security.

Plenary Session | The Role of AI in Government Efficiency and Service Quality
Anton Fajardo, McKinsey & Company

Plenary Session | Public Dashboard Case Study
Qlik
Blake Evans, Elections Director, Georgia Secretary of State’s Office

Data Analysis and Decision Making for Government Certificate Program Cohort Graduation

This session will include a presentation from a graduate of the institute’s Data Analytics and Decision Making course. As part of the course, participants learn new analytical skills and how to present data to decision makers. Graduates will present their capstone projects and demonstrate the data story telling skills they learned as part of the course. Presentation of certificates to graduates will follow the presentation. Join us in celebrating this year’s graduates.

Capstone Presentation: Early Grade Level Literacy Achievement: A Rationale for Prescriptive Intervention
Rebecca Braaten, Ed.D.