Using data in government and public services

Transcription

1 Using data in government and public services A practice guide May 2017 nesta.org.uk

2 This is a preview of a forthcoming practice guide, which will be published in Summer 2017 by Nesta. We have included the introduction and an outline of the main body of the guide, and we would welcome your feedback on this document. 2

3 How would your organisation make decisions differently - and how would its actions change - if you had all the information you could ever need about an issue? If you work in government - whether central, regional or local - or in a public sector organisation, this guide is designed to help you understand how you can apply data to achieve a wide array of different benefits. In many cases, getting all the information - the complete picture - may be unrealistic. But making smarter use of data can get you a lot closer. This guide addresses questions such as how you can use data to understand the size and scale of the problems, opportunities and demands you seek to address. How you can better understand past cases of a particular scenario and predict when and where it s most likely to occur in future. And how your teams can be more coordinated, your resources more targeted, and your decisions better informed. Big data, big jargon It s unfortunate that language commonly associated with this topic, such as big data, data analytics and machine learning can make it appear more complicated than it really is. In essence, it s simply about equipping public sector staff - from the CEO to the frontline worker - with the information and tools they need to do their jobs better. That information - based on data - can be applied towards two primary goals. First, making better decisions by promoting greater understanding and awareness about an issue. Second, enabling better actions by using data to increase the effectiveness of services and interventions. This guide will show you how to deploy data to achieve both ends. 3

4 Four principles The guide is driven by four core principles, based on our experience of working with and researching governments and public sector bodies around the world. 1. Data is useful to the extent that it leads to action As far back as 1854, the physician John Snow famously plotted the location of deaths in London s Soho to show that a devastating cholera outbreak was caused by the contamination of a local water pump. The map he created was an early example of data visualisation and led authorities to act in a way that ran counter to conventional wisdom at the time: they removed the pump handle, saving many hundreds of lives. That same logic applies today. Governments and public sector bodies exist to serve their communities; data should be applied to better deliver those same practical ends. 2. The primary consumers of public sector data should be the public sector themselves Many governments early forays into data have focused on open data - publishing datasets freely for others to use. This has resulted in some significant benefits, but the focus has been in the wrong place, for two reasons. First, if an organisation is not using its own data, the quality of the data it publishes externally is likely to be poor. Second, given that smarter use of data is a vital and proven route to making services more effective and decisions better, it s a huge missed opportunity if organisations publish their data only in the hope that others will use it. Our advice: use your own data and invest in its timeliness and quality, then link it up across the different parts of your organisation to improve your own operations and potentially save money. A subset of that higher-quality data can then be shared for use by the public as open data. It s a win-win. 4

5 3. Data delivers most value when it is shared The scale of the financial challenges facing the public sector in many countries is such that it s not sufficient for individual organisations merely to become as efficient as they can. Rather, they need to find ways to collaborate with data to address issues at a larger scale. The problem is that public sector data often resembles a jigsaw that s never been put together; every team and organisation has their own piece of the puzzle, but no one can see the whole picture. There is huge benefit to be had if data can be joined up, analysed and acted upon when it s sourced from many different organisations covering a whole city or region. 4. Making smarter use of data is not primarily a challenge of having the right technology, but of having the right culture, skills and leadership Old IT systems can make it hard to get data out. Poor practice by some IT suppliers means organisations can be charged for extracting their own records. Data held by different teams can be recorded in different formats and standards, creating the digital equivalent of comparing apples and oranges. Yet, happily, today these issues are all relatively easily addressed thanks to new, low cost and widely available technologies. More problematically, the major barriers to making smarter use of data are about culture, organisation and skills. Public sector leaders need to establish a culture in which it s simply not acceptable to make decisions without data and evidence to back them up. Data analysts need time free from their current roles of reporting on Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to use their skills for genuine data science. And data teams need access to leadership each and every week. Yet we have found that organisations with this approach are exceptionally rare. 5

6 Getting on the right track Data is no cure-all, and we do the whole agenda a disservice if we falsely inflate expectations about what it can achieve. Instead, this guide can help you think critically about the issues where data does have a useful role to play. What benefits can data bring? As analysis of data has transformed the way most businesses operate, it has the potential to have a similarly profound impact on the work of government. In our research and practical work into how governments can use data, we have seen benefits across all types of government activity, and in multiple different ways. 6

7 Data and analytics can help you to save money, time and effort. They can help you provide a more personalised service to citizens. They can help reduce your carbon emissions and support businesses to grow. In short, there are few areas of government activity where data doesn t have something to offer. For example, data can help: Support the end-to-end redesign of complex social care services, such as Newcastle s Family Insights Programme. This pairs evidence-based social work practice with rigorous data analysis to inform social workers decisions with insights into how best to support families. Predict, prevent and optimise. In central government, the Health and Safety Executive are exploring how data can be used to predict where health and safety violations might be occurring. This could make inspection regimes more accurate. Meanwhile in London, councils are sharing data to crack down on rogue landlords as part of a pilot for a London Office of Data Analytics. Support local economic growth through open data portals, such as in Leeds and Bath. Open data gives innovators, entrepreneurs and businesses information to identify where there are gaps in the market, intelligence about the best places to recruit or expand, such as the New York Business Atlas, and data on which they can build products, such as Citymapper, which uses open public transport data. Make processes more efficient. In Camden, integrating data from different teams IT systems through the use of a Residents Index has stripped out inefficiencies from back office processes, saving money and improving services for citizens. 7

8 Who might find this guide useful? This guide is aimed at public sector service managers and data officers across local, regional and central government who want to know more about using data to improve the way they work. The content should also be useful to anyone working in a similar role in the third or voluntary sector. Image: Jesussanz, Thinkstock 8

9 How to use the guide The guide is divided into the following three sections: Section A: What do we mean by data and datainformed decision-making? This section explores the key terms associated with data and discusses what we mean by data-informed decision-making. It also runs through the different types of data that government collects, as well as looking at common data analytics techniques. Section B: Why use data? This section looks at the benefits that data and analytics can enable, such as redesigning end-to-end services, improving back office processes, and predicting adverse events so that efforts can be made to prevent them. Section C: How to generate actionable insights from data This section works through how to use data to create insights and inform decisions. It offers practical tips and advice to help you plan your data project and strategy. It covers: Before you begin Things to consider before getting started, including securing support from leadership teams, resourcing projects and budgeting. 9

10 Defining your problem and desired change Exploring the kind of problem you want to solve, the change you want to see, and how data can help you achieve this. Exploring the information product you want to create Thinking about what type of product the end user of your data will actually need to make use of it in their work - for example, a visualisation, an interactive map, or a decision support tool. Taking stock of what data is available Investigating the datasets that might be available to you, both within and beyond your organisation. This includes advice on getting your own data in order, as well as how to effectively share data. Analysing the data Creating insights from your data, including picking the right method of analysis, the people you ll need to help you, and the working methods to adopt. Communicating and acting on your findings Making your data meaningful by communicating your findings effectively and using them to inform decision-making. Evaluating your data project Planning, designing and implementing an evaluation to understand the impact of your data project. Getting the most value from your open data How to engage a community of people, entrepreneurs and businesses with your open data to increase its use. 10

11 If you have any feedback or comments on the proposed contents of the guide, please contact About Nesta Nesta is a global innovation foundation. We back new ideas to tackle the big challenges of our time. We use our knowledge, networks, funding and skills - working in partnership with others, including governments, businesses and charities. We are a UK charity but work all over the world, supported by a financial endowment. To find out more visit 11

12 58 Victoria Embankment London EC4Y 0DS +44 (0) Nesta is a registered charity in England and Wales with company number and charity number Registered as a charity in Scotland number SCO Registered office: 58 Victoria Embankment, London, EC4Y 0DS.