The government is increasingly using data. The Data Agenda Government is about data use in society and makes work of good and responsible data use by the government. In an essay by Binnenlands Bestuur, Magchiel van Meeteren, Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), argues that more cooperation is needed to harness the social added value of data use. 'Because on our own we are not going to make it'.
The goal of the Center for Big Data Statistics (CBDS) is to explore the value of new sources for statistics to better support decision makers with faster, more detailed insights realized with less burden. A lot of data is already available from administrations of government organizations and companies, but to that is added more and more generated real-time data from all kinds of devices, sensors or processes. And the ability to process and analyze that data as well. 'All that data, now mostly from the private sector, can help enormously both in service provision to citizens, in operational tasks such as enforcement, and, in our case, as a source for policy,' says Van Meeteren.
The main question, he says, is how to get the right skills to work from data and tackle social issues such as energy transition, digitization, or undermining crime. This requires many public and private organizations. That collaboration is complicated in itself, but to work data-driven, data from all those organizations must be brought together - without compromising privacy.
Data-driven organizations are those in which everyone makes decisions based on data, rather than on experience, intuition or gut alone. The idea here is that decisions become more objective and transparent. "In practice, we see that not many government organizations can yet call themselves data-driven," Van Meeteren said.
According to him, the energy transition is a good example. Municipalities have the task of coming up with heat plans in which it becomes clear how the municipality will achieve a low-CO2 built environment by 2050 at the latest. Municipalities, provinces, housing corporations, network operators, energy suppliers and citizens must work together to achieve this. And to arrive at the right measures, data must be shared. But this is currently happening only to a limited extent. Are there visible differences in the rate of sustainability between neighborhoods with different characteristics? Are certain groups more sensitive to subsidies than others, and where do they live? Can people afford the necessary measures? 'This requires up-to-date datasets and organizations that can do analyses on this, release models, make forecasts, give policy advice. And not just now, but constantly, to be able to assess the right choice and the effectiveness of the measures. Everyone has only part of the puzzle; no one can do it alone," Van Meeteren argues.
He sees several keys to success. 'First, it is enormously important to increase digital literacy among citizens in general and civil servants in particular. The digital divide must close. Citizens must remain able to interact with an increasingly digital government and will play an increasingly important role in managing their own data. What is allowed with it, and by whom? A dialogue is needed between citizens and government about data. How does the government obtain a social license to use data for the common good and how do we get into a position where that data is granted to us? Knowledge development is also needed among many civil servants, he says, at all levels.
Companies, science and government need each other, according to him, because the challenges are too big for a single organization to tackle alone. This requires a booster, a knowledge base, advisor, reviewer and director. Van Meeteren: "Which regional data initiatives can be scaled up nationally? But also which national standardization helps developments at the regional level? This is where ministries and organizations such as the Association of Netherlands Municipalities and the Interprovincial Consultation for harmonization and connections, as well as organizations such as the CBS for standardization and providing a data hub, play a role. To underline the importance of data and the urgency of these developments, it is time to give data governance a face, for example by appointing a Chief Data Officer at the national government.'
Source: Digital Government
This article can also be found in the Digital Transformation dossier
