Toggle drawer
MENU
  + 
Chief Data Officer
Ken Pfeil
# 2020
## Virtual Virginia Datathon: 10.01.2020 - 10.02.2020
!
Watch the Virtual Virginia Datathon opening kick-off and the recorded team presentations (including the winners!) on the  channel.
The purpose of the Datathon was to explore and identify open data assets supporting solutions that deliver outcomes positively impacting communities across the Commonwealth. The Virginia Datathon didn't end on October 2nd...it was just getting started! The first, second, and third place teams received  credits to continue building their solutions.
### 2020 Virginia Datathon Theme
The theme for the 2020 Virginia Datathon was **Communities and COVID-19**. The COVID-19 pandemic delivered unique and unprecedented challenges for many. The impact of the crisis was felt across communities in different ways and has affected employment, education, health, business, and more. This far-reaching theme served to explore the multi-faceted effect of COVID-19 and contrasting community experiences along with what solutions might mitigate the impact of another crisis and ultimately aid Virginia's recovery.
**2020 Datathon Winners**
1st Place: 
2nd Place: 
3rd Place: 
Honorable Mention: 
### Meet The 2020 Judges
| Vida Williams  Vida Williams is the Chief Diversity Officer and Advanced Analytics Solutions Lead at SingleStone and utilizes her experience as a data scientist to drive social and economic change in communities. Recently her endeavors as an adjunct professor at VCU’s da Vinci center has led her to be named the school’s first ever “Innovator in Residence.” Vida remains active in her community through board memberships with Code VA, Podium and Virginia Union University’s (VUU) Center for Undergraduate Research. | David Der  David Der is currently CEO of Forestry Machine Learning and is focused on delivering solutions in this space to customers across industries. He is an experienced consultant and entrepreneur, having successfully exited his last company with an acquisition by Capital One where he spent two years as a director in the Center for Machine Learning. | Chandra Briggman  Chandra Briggman is President and CEO of Activation Capital, a leading innovation ecosystem development organization providing social, knowledge, and financial capital to tech clusters across the Commonwealth of Virginia. Before being named the CEO in May 2020, Chandra was Director of Venture Café Foundation located in Cambridge, MA, and was responsible for the strategy and operations of the global network’s flagship Venture Café Cambridge innovation hub. |
| --- | --- | --- |
## 2020 Sponsors
### Terabyte Title Sponsor
### Gigabyte Sponsors
|  |  |
| --- | --- |
### Megabyte Sponsors
|  |  |  |  |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
### SWaM Sponsors
### Awards and Prizes
The judges for the Virtual Virginia Datathon awarded prizes to the top team submissions. Every team member on the 1st place team received a $500 Amazon gift card. Every team member on the 2nd place team received a $300 Amazon gift card and every team member on the 3rd place team received a $150 Amazon gift card.
### 2020 Participating Team Organizations
American University
### Datathon Email List
Sign up to receive event updates and information.
###### Explore
  * 
###### At Your Service
###### Stay Connected
* **Office of Data Governance and Analytics**
  P.O. Box 1475
  Richmond, VA 23218
  804-786-1201
  Email the Office of Data Governance and Analytics
  |  |  |
  | --- | --- |
###### Bits and Bytes
Stay up-to-date with everything data-related in the Commonwealth such as events, news, data governance, sharing, analytics, and intelligence.
Click the button below to sign up for Bits and Bytes, the monthly Office of Data Governance and Analytics Newsletter.
# FAQs
## Frequently Asked Questions
Below you'll find information to help guide you through the next Virginia Datathon. Have a question and don’t see an answer? Contact  odga@odga.virginia.gov for more information.
**Where is the event?**
There will be a virtual event kickoff on Friday, April 4th, 2025 where the teams will receive the datasets and have a chance to ask questions about the theme and what the judges will be looking for in the solutions. Then, on Friday, April 11, 2025 team participants and the judges are invited to The ACCA Shriners Center at 1712 Bellevue Avenue, Richmond, Virginia 23227 for the event. When your team arrives, please come to the lobby and check in.
 **Where can I park on April 11, 2025?**
The ACCA Shriners venue provides parking for the event at the venue.
**Will food be provided on the day of the event?**
Absolutely! Lunch will be provided.
**Are we allowed to bring our own data?**
Teams are allowed to bring their own **open** data as long as they provide the data to other participating teams. Sharing is caring.
**How do we submit our solution?**
Teams should record their presentations (maximum length is **five minutes**) and submit in .mp4 format by 12:00 p.m. EST on Thursday, April 10th, 2025. Team presentations will be shared with everyone during the event on April 11, 2025 at which point the judges will be present to score and select winners.
**Who can participate?**
Anyone! Whether you are a student, state employee or community member, we invite you to participate. Some technical skills are needed, most participants have a background in data science, analytics, data engineering, etc. and familiarity with business intelligence tools.
**How many people can be on a team?**
Teams can have up have to six people but most teams have four to five participants. If you are on a team with less than 6 participants you may be asked to join another team.
**Do I need to be available for the entire event?**
You can use as much or as little time as you would like to create a solution with your team. Most teams use the entire week. There is no virtual option for the April 11th in person portion of the event and participants are required to attend.
**Who owns the rights to the solutions developed?**
The event objective is for Commonwealth of Virginia agencies to work with the teams to utilize the solutions or models developed but the ownership of the intellectual property belongs to the team unless you are participating as a Commonwealth of Virginia employee or state agency, in which case the intellectual property belongs to the Commonwealth. .
## Datathon Email List
## Framework for Addiction Analysis and Community Transformation
FAACT is Virginia’s premier cross-secretariat data-sharing initiative. By combining previously siloed data from different agencies, secretariats, localities, social services, public safety and corrections, drug courts, community coalitions, and private healthcare systems.
FAACT was built as part of Virginia’s response to the opioid epidemic and quickly expanded to help the Commonwealth track and combat the spread of COVID-19. Now FAACT has expanded with more than 20 datasets and gives local community leaders across disciplines information to help them proactively and effectively respond to their community’s needs.
Data resources included in the FAACT project reside in the  managed by the Office of Data Governance and Analytics and the  comprised of participating organizations and agencies. The Data Trust ensures proper custody, protection, documentation, and dissemination of data resources through a Data Trust Agreement that data FAACT participants enter into with the Chief Data Officer, which qualifies acceptable uses and rules for data sharing.
## Why Use FAACT
Organizations across the commonwealth are using FAACT to improve outcomes for people in their communities.
#### Easy Collaboration
Securely access data from other localities and agencies or share your own for a more holistic understanding of our community.
#### Deeper Insights
User-friendly tools make data analysis fast and simple, so you turn data insights into policy improvements or actionable strategies.
#### Understand Your Impact
Measure and understand the impact of your programs, and leverage data to demonstrate progress and apply for grants.
#### Maximize your Results
Enable a more effective focus on prevention by allocating resources that best align with the needs in the field and by accessing FAACT at no cost.
Loading...
--+
Unique Data Elements
Unique Substances Tracked
--
Years of Data Compiled
--M+
Law Enforcement Unique Incidents
Law Enforcement Encounters
*Note: Encounters represent all related activities on the Incident (e.g., One incident could have multiple crimes leading to several encounters)*
--K+
EMS Naloxone Administrations (2018-Present)
VDH Naloxone Kits Distributed (2023-Present)
Fentanyl Test Strips Distributed (2023-Present)
## Request Access to FAACT
FAACT is a free resource that can be used by agencies, nonprofits, research institutions, and students.
## FAACT in Action
## Questions?
**Learn more about the FAACT initiative and read answers to commonly asked questions.**
****
# Key Capabilities
## FAACT Key Capabilities
### **Data Governance**
The FAACT Data Trust leverages the Commonwealth’s Data Trust which specifies what data is shared with who, how it can be shared, includes sensitive data when appropriate for entity matching (not shared), and can reference existing data. Learn more about the 
### **Secure Data Sharing**
Through a secure Data Sharing Platform (Socrata), the FAACT project makes datasets available for exploration, data profiling, and consumption as allowed by the Data Trust Agreement.
### **Self-Service Analytics**
Easy-to-use data visualization applications provide answers to some of the most pressing questions about substance use and addiction at the community level. You can explore data on demand or schedule data regular delivery of reports to your email.
### **Predictive Capability**
Using data science techniques, the FAACT project conducts deep analyses on available datasets to study complex trends and patterns around substance use and addiction.
## FAACT Facts
Unique Data Elements: 1,300+
## Business Use Cases
### Learn about Drug Patterns in Your Jurisdiction
Twenty years of Department of Forensic Science (DFS) data that identifies substances submitting to the lab for analysis.
#### Insights
* What are the trends in substances identified over time?
* Which localities are now suffering an influx of a selected substance?
* What substances co-occur when confiscated?
### Identify Patterns with Fatal Drug Overdoses
Over twenty-five years of Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) data that analyzes fatal drug overdoses.
* When did Fentanyl become the most prevalent drug involved in deaths?
* Which localities have the most drug deaths and which have the highest per capita drug deaths?
* What are races and ages more likely to abuse opioids with stimulants or alcohol?
### Understand Criminal Trends involving Drugs and Narcotics
Over twenty years of Virginia State Police data for drug and narcotic violations (35A) and over thirty years of National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) data for all Virginian criminal charges.
* What are the recent drug charges and how have they changed over the decades?
* How does the criminal activity types like possession or distribution compare between different age groups?
* Do smaller cities and counties have more crimes committed by local residents or non-residents?
# Frequently Asked Questions
## Frequently Asked Questions about FAACT
1. **How can FAACT ensure proper custody, protection, documentation, and dissemination of data resources?**
2. **How will anonymity of data sources be protected to ensure its value and viability?**
   Agencies will send key identifiers (PII & demographic data) separate from domain data and will be hashed (masked/de-identified).
3. **Who can access my data?**
   The FAACT Data Trust Agreement will specify who will have access to my data. In addition, internal data stewards and analyst can be assigned to interact with their data within FAACT.
4. **How will authorized users be able to access data visualization applications built off the datasets that are provided?**
   Qlik Sense is the data analytics platform where interactive dashboards will allow authorized users to drill into the data and visualizations.
5. **Who should I contact if I have a question or need help utilizing the FAACT project?**
   Voyatek (formerly Qlarion, Inc) is the vendor that is spearheading the FAACT framework to combat the opioid epidemic. Voyatek will have resources and points of contacts available for users.
6. **What is the cost of participating in the FAACT project?**
   There are no financial costs for agencies to participate in the FAACT project.
7. **How can I learn more about the FAACT project?**
   **To learn more about the FAACT project or to sign up, please email: support@va-idea.freshdesk.com**
# Media Center
## Press Releases
June 12, 2020
August 26, 2019
## Media Contact
**Jeffrey Scheich**Director, Enterprise Solutions
Virginia Information Technology Agencies
jeffrey.scheich@vita.virginia.gov
## Media Center
December 2, 2020
#### 
CDO Carlos Rivero explains how he aligns his priorities with the CIO’s, how COVID-19 accelerated Virginia’s data governance strategy and how his time with the Federal Transit Administration informs state-level work.
November 11, 2020
Amy and Matt talk with Virginia's Chief Data Officer, Carlos Rivero, about the recent NASCIO Award on their "Framework for Addiction Analysis and Community Transformation (FAACT)."
More information on the award .
October 9, 2020
State governments have unique challenges when it comes to budgets, workforce readiness, and technology adoption. Increasingly state and local governments have also been innovative, pushing forward AI technology to help with many operational and...
September 16, 2020
The battle to tackle an opioid epidemic across the USA was going nowhere. So the Commonwealth of Virginia turned to data to fight it, appointing Carlos Rivero as the first Chief Data Officer with a mission to bring the numbers down - and save lives. He talks to *Tech for Good* about the methods behind the data-driven response to the crisis, and how it's now being applied to COVID-19.
## Awards
#### 2020 NASCIO State IT Recognition Awards
The Office of Data Governance and Analytics and the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services are the 2020 National Association of State Chief Information Officers’ (NASCIO) State IT Recognition **award recipient in the category of Cross-Boundary Collaboration & Partnerships** for the Framework for Addiction Analysis and Community Transformation (FAACT) data-sharing and analytics platform! These annual awards honor transformational projects and initiatives that address critical business problems, improve business processes and elevate the citizen experience. Read the .
---
#### COVITS - Innovative Use of Big Data and Analytics
The Framework for Addiction Analysis and Community Transformation (FAACT) won a  for the innovative approach to improving government for the benefit of citizens.