Highlights of a Forum: Data and Analytics Innovation: Emerging Opportunities and Challenges, GAO-16-659SP: Published: Sep 20, 2016. Publicly Released: Sep 20, 2016.

“Forum discussions considered the implications of new data-related technologies and developments that are revolutionizing the basic three-step innovation process in the figure below. As massive amounts of varied data become available in many fields, data generation (step 1 in the process) is transformed. Continuing technological advances are bringing more powerful analytics and changing analysis possibilities (step 2 in the process). And approaches to new decision making include intelligent machines that may, for example, guide human decision makers. Additionally, data may be automatically generated on actions taken in response to data analytic results, creating an evaluative feedback loop.”