“Why be an Economist?” Day

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Optimal Solutions Group, LLC (Optimal), hosted its fourth annual NSF funded aspiring economist event. Students heard presentations from several key staff members highlighting the type of work an economist might undertake within Optimal’s four research centers: health, education, workforce development, and housing. The goal of these presentations was to explore the question of “Why Be an Economist?” in an age when economics is becoming an ever more multidisciplinary field. The students were challenged to think about the Wall Street collapse and the need for working across many fields of expertise. » Read more

Workforce & Economic Development Policy Roundtable: Focus on Low-Skilled Workers, Promising Careers, and Green Jobs

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Optimal Solutions Group, LLC (Optimal) recently hosted prominent government, educational, and business leaders to talk about employment options for low-skilled workers in the greater Baltimore Metropolitan area. For over two hours, Optimal researchers and Roundtable attendees shared information and stories in an effort to relay crucial information promoting workforce and economic development in the greater Baltimore area. The topics provided a wealth of information and beneficial discussions for the group’s attendees. » Read more

UMD Social Sciences Business Plan Competition Students Visit Optimal

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Students from the University of Maryland (UMD) will be visiting Optimal Solutions Group, LLC (Optimal) on October 25 as part of the “Be the Solution” Business Plan Competition.  The students are participating in a program launched in September which ultimately prepares them for competing for team prizes of up to $2,500 for the best start-up concept.  The competition is sponsored by the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences (BSOS) and the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship

The visit to Optimal is intended to enhance the students’ perspectives by providing real-world exposure to innovative projects in the social sciences.  During their visit, the students will learn about current projects that Optimal is engaged in which are relevant to the topics of their business plan competition .Competition topics include: 

  • Global Sustainability
  • Understanding Societies and Culture
  • Improving the Human Condition
  • International Relations

In addition, the students will learn from and engage with Optimal staff about the start-up and entrepreneurial/innovation path that Optimal has taken in social sciences.As part of their visit, the students will also walk through Optimal’s new Entrepreneurship and Innovation Center for ideas on how to spur collaboration, new ideas and manage implementation.  Optimal is currently the only social sciences firm in UMD’s M Square research park and its President, Mark Turner is a member of the BSOS Board of Visitors.  Dr. Turner will server as one of the competition judges and Optimal is proud to be one of the sponsors of the competition.
For more information see:

http://www.bsos.umd.edu/news-and-events/business-plan-competition.aspx

Point of contact for all inquiries :

Tracye Turner
Optimal Solutions Group, LLC
301.306.1170
[email protected]

Optimal Hosts Open House for New Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center

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This past September, Optimal Solutions Group, LLC (Optimal) opened its new innovation and entrepreneurship center (IEC) as a part of its ongoing commitment and focus in these areas. The center, which is operational, is located adjacent to Optimal’s current headquarters in the University of Maryland’s (UMD) M Square Research Park. Research park tenants, University of Maryland officials, clients and partners are invited to Optimal’s newest center celebration. 

Currently, Optimal contributes to several entrepreneurship and innovation initiatives such as

  • sponsorship of UMD’s College of Behavioral and Social Sciences (BSOS) business plan competition,
  • sponsorship of UMD’s annual Human Computer Interaction Lab Symposium,
  • sponsorship of UMD’s Smith School of Business, Center for Health Information and Decision Systems annual Workshop on Health IT and Economics,
  • providing an entrepreneur’s perspective on the National Science Foundation/Howard University annually sponsored “Why be an Economist Day?,”
  • evaluation support for the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) innovation clusters,
  • partnering with UMD’s Institute for Advanced Computer Studies (UMIACS) under a State of Maryland Industrial Partnerships grant (MIPs) for the development of artificial intelligence in health care quality improvement for Medicare Advantage Organizations and;
  • supporting international development projects for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) through real-time data collection and analysis systems and the launch of Optimal Africa Research (OAR) which is dedicated to “propelling rigorous and sustainable policy research in Africa.”

The new center’s activities will be focused on further developing Optimal’s real-time framework and tool set, which are designed to enable “real-time public policy decision making.” In addition to software development, some of the technologies and tools within Optimal’s proven framework include social media analytics, business intelligence and analytics, dashboards and customized multi-modal reporting.  In addition, applicable rigorous research methods are researched and implemented to integrate with the technological tools used.

Optimal, an Inc. 500 firm, in anticipation of “big data” — is focusing on enterprise-wide and external disparate data integration including unstructured data, while incorporating rigorous and alternative research methods such as agent-based modeling. Additionally, Optimal will be hosting within its center, entrepreneurial students and fellows who will have 24-hour access to a “live, work and play” environment designed to spur constructive creativity and resulting products.

According to Optimal’s Vice President and COO, Tracye Turner, “Optimal is committed to continuing the research innovation leadership that it has provided in public policy research by encouraging the environment needed to cultivate thought leadership. With the instant creation and vast amount of data available today, there is an urgent need for policy decision makers to get facts quickly, accurately and less expensively. While political debates dominate the headlines, the public also needs timely information and facts. This new center will provide stakeholders, including policy makers, implementers and the public with unbiased data and tools to enable their decision making.”

In addition to Optimal’s university collaborations such as UMD, Drexel University, and Carnegie Mellon University, some of the strategic technologies and affiliations Optimal has are with firms such as IBM Cognos, Microstrategy, Tibco SpotFire, Radian 6, Collective Intellect and Apple.

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