In my experience, the concept of ‘data’ can occupy a slightly grey area in the civil service’s consciousness. Outside of the highly skilled individuals whose expertise spans the full end-to-end process, from collection, storage, management and insights, the term ‘data’ itself is often misunderstood and conflated with the analysis of it.
Harnessing data more effectively will be fundamental to the success of central government initiatives, and this must start from within the civil service itself. The CDDO’s newly appointed chief strategy officer, Gina Gill, recognised the need for change in her recent keynote speech; identifying the improvement of data use and system reform as the two missions she was most keen to progress.
A new data strategy, therefore, should not just focus on improving data infrastructure, but also on fostering education around it more widely within the government. Despite a lack of sufficient education around data, there is a vast ambition among civil servants when it comes to the potential outputs that it can provide. A new strategy should look to capitalise on this ambition while also improving understanding.
Elevating awareness and understanding
The civil service has already taken steps to better the training it provides around data – in 2023, for example, the focus of the One Big Thing was data upskilling. Although a vital first measure, this did not go far enough. The training focused on how data can be transformed into insights, rather than the underlying mechanics of how it flows through systems, where it comes from and how to acquire it – what I term the ‘get-put-use' model.
There is a widespread assumption that relevant data is simply available on tap, that it readily moves through systems and that valuable insights can be easily drawn from it. Stripping the training back to instead consider and interrogate what data itself is and how it is inextricably linked to business processes, before incorporating learning modules that address all of its different elements (measurement, analysis, insights, etc) would go a long way in empowering civil servants to derive more value from data.
Building these educational foundations is also the first step to democratising data within the civil service. If individuals better understand the nature of the information they are requesting, and where it comes from, they can more effectively use it for decision-making (rather than relying solely on designated data teams to do so). Necessary security guardrails should and must remain in place, but opening up data access in this way could exponentially increase efficiencies across departments.
Systematisation and infrastructure
There are also limitations in the existing data infrastructure that must be acknowledged and systemic challenges that must be addressed. In part this is due to the fact that, historically, the government’s approach to data has naturally been more reactive than proactive. In other words, significant developments have been driven by need or emergency.
Take Covid-19, which drove some seismic breakthroughs for the government when it came to unlocking the power of data. In the Department for Education, the data teams built a system that measured, in real-time, how many children and teachers were in school every day, as well as their reasons for being off sick. This information, and the insights it provided, then informed resultant governmental decisions, tapping into the true value – and benefits for society – that data can provide. Furthermore, the resulting infrastructure was later used in the publication of the official statistics around teachers’ industrial action in February 2023, which went on to win the 2023 Campion Award for Excellence in Official Statistics.
While necessity will always be the mother of invention, it is essential that a balance is struck here. The government still needs to innovate and develop data infrastructure outside of such acute situations, to be better prepared for and more resilient against future shocks. What’s more, when effective systems are created, like those developed by the Department for Education, they must be systematised and automated across departments to prevent a ‘cottage industry’ effect. This will help to address the fact that, although there are pockets of groundbreaking work going on, capabilities around data remain relatively siloed within and across departments.
Reimagining the possible
Admittedly, the government faces something of a Gordian Knot when it comes to creating and implementing a new data strategy. A reduced civil service, funding cuts and the significant investment needed to fund an improved end-to-end infrastructure are not challenges that can be solved overnight. However, the government would be remiss not to harness its civil service’s palpable ambition around data, and to capitalise on its creativity.
Digital and business transformations cannot happen without data transformations, particularly as departments look towards applying technologies like AI. Indeed, the public sector is not the arena for projects which are ‘trial and error’ – projects must deliver positive results, to society, from the get-go.
By fostering a culture of education and understanding, civil servants will be better placed to reimagine exactly what data can do and the problems it can solve. This will ensure that the resulting data projects provide maximum value, both financially and to citizens at large. This is the first step towards driving a transformative impact across all levels of public service.
Neil McIvor was chief data officer at the Department for Education and had a 23-year career in government spanning five departments. He is now head of data for public services at technology consultancy, esynergy.