The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine will convene an ad hoc committee to execute a workshop and in-depth consensus study to identify relevant data science skills and capabilities necessary for the acquisitions workforce and develop a framework for training and educating acquisitions professionals.
Specific questions to be considered by the committee during the workshop and consensus study include:

• How can data science improve acquisitions processes and where are the opportunities to improve workforce ability to apply these methods?
• What are the foundational understanding and skills that should be developed broadly in acquisitions professionals, and what more advanced capabilities are relevant for specific job functions?
• What are the characteristics and portfolio of skills of successful data science teams and how can supervisors with non-technical backgrounds effectively manage data science projects?
• What data science training and education models exist in other government agencies and outside of government for employee training and up-skilling?

The workshop will be recorded and webcast live and a rapporteur will summarize the presentation and discussions in a “Proceedings of a Workshop”. At the end of the study, the committee will produce a consensus report providing findings and recommendations on how the Department of Defense can accelerate data analysis capabilities within the acquisition workforce.