They can validate information, analyse it, explain it, and they can help the public find what they need to know.

BBC: How the net is transforming news

Until today, there was no on-going global mechanism recognized by both the scientific and policy communities to gather, synthesize and analyse information for decision making.

UNESCO: MEDIA SERVICES

Ability to collect, synthesise and analyse information from various sources.

UNESCO: I

There was no on-going global mechanism recognized by both the scientific and policy communities to gather, synthesize and analyse information on biodiversity for decision making until IPBES was established in April 2012.

UNESCO: NATURAL SCIENCES

This is a considerable accomplishment, but it is important to analyse this information critically.

UNESCO: Reading for a Billion: Same Language Subtitling

They need better tools to weigh the opinions of those who analyse incoming information.

ECONOMIST: Techniques, not technology

The system involves actors at the regional, national and local levels to gather, analyse and disseminate information.

UNESCO: Building the Wealth of Nations

The activities require users to analyse and interpret this information and to apply the ideas learnt to local curriculum and teaching contexts.

UNESCO: Introducing the TLSF Dissemination & Training Toolbox

America's army is already using the technology to analyse interactions between people in other countries, with a view to including this information in programs designed to teach cultural differences to soldiers stationed in foreign lands.

ECONOMIST: Computer etiquette: Nods and winks | The

And there's a growing number of companies that now offer to collect huge amounts of data and analyse it as a service, with the promise of helping businesses find nuggets of information that give them a competitive advantage in their markets.

BBC: The boffins digging for nuggets of gold in big data