Enabling Real-Time Data-Driven Public Policy Decision Making
Optimal’s Analytics team recently attended an in-house lecture given by Dr. Carolyn Seaman, who inspired the staff to think more deeply about the software they currently use to prevent accumulating “technical debt.” » Read more
A Senior Environmental Engineer at Corona Environmental Consulting, LLC, Dr. Sheldon Masters’ highly-cited work involves assessing the quality of water in commercial and residential buildings. Based in Philadelphia, his company provides solutions to remove harmful pathogens to make the water safer. Dr. Masters was invited to Optimal Solutions Group LLC on May 13th to present on water quality assessment and the causes of lead exposure. » Read more
Ben Shneiderman is a Distinguished University Professor in the Department of Computer Science, founding director of the Human-Computer Interaction Laboratory, and a member of the Institute for Advanced Computer Studies at the University of Maryland, College Park. He was elected as a Fellow of the Association for Computing (ACM) in 1997 and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in 2001. He received the ACM SIGCHI Lifetime Achievement Award in 2001 and is a member of the National Academy of Engineering. » Read more
Dr. Lane Koenig is a Senior Research Associate at Optimal Solutions Group, LLC (Optimal). At Optimal, Dr. Koenig provides senior-level oversight to Health Policy Research Center projects and activities. He leads the analysis and testing activities for the Development, Implementation, and Maintenance of Quality Measures for Hospital Outpatient Departments and Ambulatory Surgical Centers project. In addition, he serves as a Senior Reviewer on the Evaluation of Virginia Medicaid’s Children’s Mental Health (CMH) Program. » Read more
Ruth Sherman is an Associate in the Health Policy Research Center at Optimal Solutions Group, LLC (Optimal). At Optimal, Ms. Sherman provides subject matter expertise and technical assistance for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Program Integrity Manual (PIM) project. » Read more
As the only public policy research firm in the M Square research park, Optimal Solutions Group, LLC has a unique opportunity to share in UMD’s research mission and vision, according to Brian Darmody, Associate Vice President for Research and Economic Development. Mr. Darmody’s opening remarks at Optimal’s annual corporate kickoff meeting in early January conveyed UMD’s enthusiasm at forging a lasting, mutually beneficial relationship with Optimal. » Read more
Optimal Solutions Group, LLC (Optimal) has been selected by the U.S. Department of Education as a contractor under its Streamlined Acquisition Tool Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ), a research, evaluation and technical assistance contract. ED-SAT provides an expedient way to meet the recurring needs of the U.S. Department of Education by using pre-competed pools of experts. This contracting mechanism presents Optimal with the opportunity to compete for task orders to meet program, policy, and research initiatives of the U.S. Department of Education. » Read more
Optimal Solutions Group, LLC (Optimal) has received designation as a contractor for the Program Support Center (PSC) Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quality (IDIQ) Task Order contract to provide services to the Department of Health and Human Services and other agencies. Services contemplated under this contract are to include policy assessments/analysis, program assessments, evaluation design studies and data collection, performance measurements, technical assistance/expertise, data analysis and auxiliary/support services that may be needed to complete a particular project. This PSC IDIQ designation is a 5-year award viable until January 1, 2014.
Dr. Heidi Golding, principal analyst in the National Security Division at the Congressional Budget Office, highlighted her evaluations of combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in an Optimal Solutions Group’s Professional Development Series Brown Bag Lunch. » Read more
At the American Education Research Association’s (AERA’s) Annual Meeting in Denver on May 1, Ebony L. Walton will present her research on how the language used at home and length of residence in the U.S. relate to the identification of English Language Learners (ELL) status and student performance on NAEP mathematics, reading, and science. » Read more