Series: Building a data driven public sector (DDPS)

On 16th May 2024 I led a 90 minute session as part of the Digital Academy Masterclass, hosted by the Government of Azerbaijan’s Innovation and Digital Development Agency, and delivered by Digital Nation.

I’ve broken the presentation into 4 parts:

This presentation unpacks the OECD’s Data-Driven Public Sector framework that I developed with Barbara Ubaldi, Jacob Arturo Rivera Perez and Lucia Chauvet. That framework drew heavily on the working paper – “A data-driven public sector” – authored by Charlotte van Ooijen which I completed for publication.

If you’re here you might also be interested in my 12 year old posts on The Magic of Open Data from my time at Hull City Council.

Building a data-driven public sector Introduction

July 19, 2024 / Benjamin Welby / 1 Comment

This entry is part 1 of 4 in the series Building a data driven public sector (DDPS)

I’ve broken the presentation into 4 parts. This is the introduction, Part 1 considered the potential of data to deliver public value; Part 2 looked at the elements needed to actually build a data-driven public sector; and Part 3 explored how to unlock the value of data without losing public trust.

Unless otherwise indicated or an obvious screenshot, the images were generated by ChatGPT.

My name’s Ben Welby and I’ve spent 15 years working in and around digital transformation starting off in local government, then helping to build and launch GOV.UK, and most recently at the OECD.

Today we’re going to be looking at the three aspects of building a data-driven public sector:

Building a data-driven public sector Part 1: The potential of data for delivering public value

July 19, 2024 / Benjamin Welby / 1 Comment

This entry is part 2 of 4 in the series Building a data driven public sector (DDPS)

I’ve broken the presentation into 4 parts. After an introduction, this is Part 1 considering the potential of data to deliver public value; Part 2 asked how do we go about building a data-driven public sector; and Part 3 explored how to unlock the value of data without losing public trust.

Unless otherwise indicated or an obvious screenshot, the images were generated by ChatGPT.

So let’s start with understanding the transformative potential of data in delivering public value.

The volume of data we generate and the importance we place on it is growing exponentially, but the critical question is: how effectively are we harnessing this data?

Let’s consider the numbers.

In 2010 the world as a whole generated 2 zettabytes of data. Last year that figure was put at a staggering 120 zettabytes of data. To put that in some perspective, one zettabyte equals a trillion gigabytes.

Building a data-driven public sector Part 2: How to do it

July 19, 2024 / Benjamin Welby / 1 Comment

This entry is part 3 of 4 in the series Building a data driven public sector (DDPS)

I’ve broken the presentation into 4 parts. After the introduction, Part 1 considered the potential of data to deliver public value; this is Part 2 and looked at the elements needed to actually build a data-driven public sector; and Part 3 explored how to unlock the value of data without losing public trust.

Unless otherwise indicated or an obvious screenshot, the images were generated by ChatGPT.

David McCandless, of Information is Beautiful, suggested that instead of thinking about data like oil, we should rather think of it like soil. Data is a fertile environment from which good things might happen.

But just like soil, it is something you have to nurture and care for if you want it to give you a good return.

And this is where we start our second section – if we’re in roles with responsibility for building a data-driven public sector then we need to think about our job in terms of farming. We need to be mindful that when it comes to data our job is to make good soil and nurture data-driven ways of working.

Building a data-driven public sector Part 3: Unlocking the value of data without losing public trust

July 19, 2024 / Benjamin Welby / 3 Comments

This entry is part 4 of 4 in the series Building a data driven public sector (DDPS)

I’ve broken the presentation into 4 parts. After the introduction, Part 1 considered the potential of data to deliver public value; Part 2 looked at the elements needed to actually build a data-driven public sector; and this, Part 3, explored how to unlock the value of data without losing public trust.

Unless otherwise indicated or an obvious screenshot, the images were generated by ChatGPT.

Now we’re onto the third and final part of this morning’s session. We’ve thought about where value can come from in terms of what you do with data. We’ve thought about the role you all play in helping to create the conditions for data to be used. But now we will finish with thinking about how our use of data builds and preserves trust.

Trust is such a valuable commodity. But it can be lost so quickly and take so long to repair.

Trust between citizens and their government is the basis on which the legitimacy of public institutions is built. Without trust, some policies lose their meaning and some services cease to be used. Unfortunately, trust is deteriorating in many countries.

Series: Building a data driven public sector (DDPS)

Building a data-driven public sector Introduction

Building a data-driven public sector Part 2: How to do it

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Building a data-driven public sector Introduction

Building a data-driven public sector Part 1: The potential of data for delivering public value

If you enjoyed reading this then subscribe below

Building a data-driven public sector Part 2: How to do it

If you enjoyed reading this then subscribe below

Building a data-driven public sector Part 3: Unlocking the value of data without losing public trust

If you enjoyed reading this then subscribe below

Never miss a new post

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