The Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC) has released a five-year oversight plan for the government’s handling of coronavirus relief funds that features use of data analytics, artificial intelligence, and other tech tools.
PRAC has been directed by the CARES Act to develop the plan “to ensure coordinated, efficient, and effective comprehensive oversight by the Committee and Inspectors General over all aspects of covered funds and the Coronavirus response.”
Goals and objectives for the plan include:
- Preventing and detecting fraud, waste, and abuse, and management by using data analytics and risk assessments;
- Promoting transparency through operating a robust, user-friendly website and making a wide range of data publicly available as it relates to covered funds and the coronavirus response;
- Promoting coordinated, comprehensive oversight with inspectors general and oversight partners sharing information, expertise, and best practices;
- Ensuring efficient sharing of data, analytics, and other information, and utilizing “leading-edge data analytics, visualization, and AI to identify suspicious outliers, links, patterns, and trends that can ensure greater focus on risk areas;” and
- Ensuring effective and efficient PRAC operations.
“By leveraging partnerships, practicing these values, and achieving these goals, the PRAC will fulfill its mission to ensure that Coronavirus relief and recovery funds intended to mitigate the economic, social, and health impacts of the Coronavirus pandemic are awarded and used appropriately,” PRAC Acting Chair Michael Horowitz said in a statement.
