Highlights of a Forum: Data Analytics For Oversight and Law Enforcement Page: 2 of 32
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Why This Forum Was Convened
Oversight and law enforcement
agencies play an important role in
eliminating fraud, waste, and abuse.
Sharing data, knowledge, and analytic
tools can assist government agencies
in this effort. However, while there is a
tremendous amount of information the
government can use in preventing and
detecting fraud, waste, and abuse,
using and leveraging these data can
be challenging.
In January 2013, GAO, the Council
of the Inspectors General on Integrity
and Efficiency, and the Recovery
Accountability and Transparency
Board convened a forum with the
purpose of exploring ways in which
oversight and law enforcement
agencies use data analytics to assist
in the prevention and detection of
fraud, waste, and abuse, as well as
identifying the most-significant
challenges to realizing the potential
of data analytics and actions that
the government can take to address
these challenges.
This report summarizes the key
themes that emerged from the
discussion in the forum. Specifically,
the report discusses the challenges
and opportunities in (1) accessing and
using data and (2) sharing data. In
addition, participants identified next
steps to address these challenges
and capitalize on opportunities.
Forum participants included
representatives from federal, state,
and local government agencies as
well as the private sector.
View GAO-13-680SP. For more information,
contact Steve M. Lord at (202) 512-4379 or
lords@gao.gov.
GXA OL U.S. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNDATA ANALYTICS
FOR OVERSIGHT & LAW ENFORCEMENT
CONVENED BY THE
Government Accountability Office
Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency
Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board
What Participants Said
Participants identified a range of challenges and opportunities associated with data
analytics-which involve a variety of techniques to analyze and interpret data to
facilitate decision making-as discussed below.
Challenges and opportunities in accessing and using available data
Challenges participants cited include, among other issues, oversight and law
enforcement entities not always being aware of all the data that may be available
to assist them in their duties, and a lack of incentives for program offices to develop
information-technology systems to support data analysis by oversight and law
enforcement entities. Participants also noted other issues related to managing and using
data such as challenges in developing a strategy to prioritize limited resources and the
difficulty oversight entities face in measuring the success of fraud-prevention efforts.
Participants also identified opportunities to enhance data-analytics efforts, such as
consolidating data and analytics operations in one location to increase efficiencies
by enabling the pooling of resources as well as accessing and sharing of the data.
Participants further identified strategies to garner organizational support for
data-analytics programs, such as short-turnaround projects that produce quick,
valuable successes to highlight the value of data analytics.
Challenges and opportunities in sharing data
Challenges participants cited include, among other issues, certain statutory requirements
that place procedural hurdles on agencies wishing to perform data matching to detect
fraud, waste, and abuse, and technical obstacles-such as the lack of uniform data
standards across agencies-which make it more difficult for oversight and law
enforcement entities to share available data. Participants also noted challenges in
sharing data across federal, state, and local government agencies due to a variety of
factors including actual and perceived legislative barriers.
Participants also discussed opportunities that could be realized if the government utilized
and shared interoperable, open-source analytical tools and techniques, which could
lessen the challenge of developing licensing agreements for proprietary software tools,
be utilized at a low cost, and be tailored to meet the needs of individual agencies.
Next steps
Participants identified several next steps that the three sponsoring organizations agreed
to implement, including: compiling a consolidated directory of data sources to increase
awareness; compiling a library of available open-source data analytics, modules, and
tools; developing an ongoing community of practice focused on data-sharing challenges;
and examining the existing statutory framework to determine whether changes related
to challenges and barriers for data analytics would be useful to oversight and law
enforcement agencies in carrying out their missions.
INSPECTORS GENERAL
ABILITY OFFICE on INTEGRITY and EFFICIENCY,n
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United States. Government Accountability Office. Highlights of a Forum: Data Analytics For Oversight and Law Enforcement, text, July 15, 2013; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc299364/m1/2/: accessed April 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.