The Future of Data Science in the City of Boston

April 10, 2017 12:00PM E53-482

Boston’s Citywide Analytics Team was founded in 2015 to improve all aspects of city government through the use of data and analytics. Over the course of its first year, the team racked up an impressive list of accomplishments through the use of data visualization, automated reporting tools, and statistical analysis. In 2016, we expanded the team’s scope to cover an even broader set of data science methods and tools. This talk will give recent examples of how the team is using predictive modeling, experimental testing, text analysis, and other techniques to improve the lives of Boston residents. We’ll also share some of the team’s plans for the coming years, as we continue to move Boston forward as a nationally-recognized leader in data-driven government.

Andrew Therriault joined the City of Boston as its first Chief Data Officer in 2016, after serving as Director of Data Science for the Democratic National Committee. He received his PhD in political science from NYU in 2011 and completed a postdoctoral research fellowship at Vanderbilt, and more recently served as editor of "Data and Democracy: How Political Data Science is Shaping the 2016 Elections" (O'Reilly Media). Therriault leads Boston’s Citywide Analytics Team, a group that is a nationally-recognized leader in using data science to improve city operations and make progress in critical areas such as public safety, education, transportation, and health.

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