ATARC’s Data Analytics Lab

The utilization of emerging technologies in procurement and acquisition have come a long way from years past. Artificial Intelligence, machine learning, and natural language processing have developed to a new point, where more capabilities exist today to explore its many applications. The time is right for industry, government, and academia to collaborate together and explore how these technologies may be applied using publicly available data and regulations. There is a wealth of information contained publicly available in distributed databases such as Federal Procurement Data System Next Generation, FPDS-NG, USA Spend, and the Federal Acquisition Regulation. These sources can be utilized to develop an acquisition tool that will benefit the entire acquisition community. A Data and Analytics Lab should be created where products and solutions can be developed and explored to advance acquisition, and create the acquisition process easier for all parties. Experts from across government, industry, and academia can partner together and develop a tool to benefit the entire acquisition community. It could be used to answer basic questions, perform analysis, or to detect when there are problems and anomalies within the statutes, regulations, and/or contract requirements.