NSF anticipated the program's priority areas will include ways that big data can improve health care and management of natural resources, and support environmentalism, precision agriculture, education, personalized medicine, finance and the energy sector.
Western Hub Executive Director Meredith Lee explained that the program is a chance to educate through events like civic hackathons, connect people and groups that don't typically talk so they can share ideas and resources, encourage innovation, and build new partnerships. The Western Hub includes Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.
Good morning Tempe! Great turn out for the @westbigdatahub event @ASU. #WBDIH pic.twitter.com/lKtbS2l1HD — ChristineKirkpatrick (@SuperChristineK) December 10, 2015
The Western Big Data Hub blog identifies four focus areas, which include:
- "metro data science," which are challenges surrounding transportation, housing and economic development;
- sustainability and the management of natural resources and hazards;
- tracking innovations in storage technology, cloud computing, analytics and data visualization; and
- supporting scientific research and learning.
Utah CTO @dfletcher showing @mmlee Utah's Water Restoration data map during @westbigdatahub #BDHubs meeting. pic.twitter.com/hX1G3eDmHe — Drew Mingl (@drewmingl) December 8, 2015
Utah is among the organizations applying for piece of the NSF's phase two funding, a $10 million grant program called Big Data Spokes. This extra funding would go toward researching the priority areas identified in the first phase of collaboration.
Thanks @BigDataUtah and @US_Ignite for your leadership in #NDSO2015 & #BDHubs workshops! pic.twitter.com/lX80Cw6Jdr — West Big Data Hub (@westbigdatahub) November 6, 2015
Some of the state's focus areas include reducing recidivism and insurance fraud, and supporting environmentalism, health care and public safety. If Utah gains Spokes funding, he said, it will be a chance to prove the value of analytics, thus making it more likely for future investment.
"Utah has been using a variety of data analytics tools for years, and our agencies have made a lot of progress in the way they use data to improve agency operations and provide services," Fletcher said, adding that as agencies begin to break down data silos and use a wider variety of data, including sensor data from the Internet of Things, and start applying them to societal challenges, "we will see even greater progress. I think the Big Data Hub and Spokes programs have the potential for stimulating these objectives."