14.11.19
Utilising data to best deliver meaningful public services
Public Sector Executive’s Matt Roberts explains how living in a modern, interconnected world, as we do, means public sector organisations cannot afford to ignore the role of data.
Data is all around us in the modern age. Unseen, the digital environment plays a role in near on every aspect of our lives. It influences, manages and mitigates risks, sources out efficiencies and provides us with accessibility and opportunity without so much as a second thought – and as such, when utilised well, it is also one of the most powerful tools at the disposal of public sector organisations.
In the current data economy, governments and their respective bodies have an obligation and a responsibility therefore to fully understand data and maximise the returns gained from its use.
Quickly becoming one of their most significant assets in bringing about necessary change, clear strategies must be defined in order to best achieve the end goals of these organisations; the betterment of public services.
Integrated public transport systems have offered consumers and commuters a previously unattainable level of convenience, while wider smart cities collaborate across industries, sectors and organisations to improve the lives of its residents with widespread innovation.
That modernisation doesn’t come without its challenges though.
READ MORE: Artificial intelligence: the devil is in the data
READ MORE: Mapping and analysing data practices across local government
Data itself – the very word core to this positive forwards movement – is difficult to define clearly for many organisations. Wide-reaching in its scope, it can hard to narrow in and define the exact necessary elements of data a particular problem might need.
Organisations individually may all have fragments of their own gathered data, but lack that final key piece to best frame and present the bigger picture. Raw data on its own is only so strong, if it cannot be clearly and correctly interpreted.
This is where data-sharing and the investment in wider data lakes comes in, allowing a much greater collaboration and interconnectivity among organisations. A joined-up approach to public services provision supports a better encompassing network, which meets the needs of the people utilising the services.
Encompassing all of these aspects of data-driven public services delivery, Public Sector Executive is hosting an exclusive roundtable discussion in London on December 5, 2019.
The findings of the closed roundtable discussion will be published as part of a thought leadership special included in the February/March 2020 issue of the Public Sector Executive print edition.
If you would be interested in participating in the roundtable discussion, fill out the contact form included below: