By Ben Kaner
Data sharing focuses on bringing together data sources to enable cross-analysis, creating additional value to outcomes across government. Government chief information officers (CIOs) should consider data sharing as a top technology trend that will likely affect their strategic plans in the foreseeable future.
Importance of Data Sharing as A Program
The importance of sharing data in fields like police investigations and intelligence gathering has been evident for many years. However, data sharing within the government is often unplanned and reactive, prompted by notable events such as child protection or gender violence cases. It also encompasses matters like money laundering and the recent increase in data sharing to combat international sanctions evasion. These occurrences of data sharing seldom result in a more organized approach to reusing data.
By contrast, data sharing as a program is a systematic approach that works through:
- Incentives and high-level sponsorship to promote organized sharing of data.
- Standards, platforms, and toolsets that ensure consistency and quality.
- Governance to manage risks associated with widespread distribution of data.
- An innovation pipeline capable of fostering new ideas, incubating them, and delivering them on a larger scale.
- A structure for obtaining and maintaining trust and consent from citizens as necessary.
These factors will lead to data sharing becoming a scalable service. Specifically, the standards and platforms being created support the push towards more flexible methods in government service delivery.
Why Is Data Sharing as A Program a Trend?
In both government and the commercial sectors, data has proven to be of great value when obtained through consent and with near-real-time access. This leads to increased innovation and greater overall value. Successful actors also use “open data” strategies and technologies, such as API marketplaces, for more than just sharing public data on a portal. They also explore exclusive data-sharing agreements and communities that provide significant benefits to a group of ecosystem actors.
Governments may not be able to easily achieve “fully consented data” due to their unique position as monopoly providers of certain services and their dual role as regulatory authority and service provider. But they can approach this level of value provision through shared data.
Policymakers across the world have already experienced the power of rapid, continuous data sharing across agencies through the COVID-19 pandemic. However, government organizations still frequently prioritize local and case-specific data sharing, as they are accustomed to compartmentalization, which has limited and narrow benefits.
In the current scenario, there are several factors accelerating the need for data sharing to follow a more pragmatic, results-oriented approach. The following are a few instances of the increasing trend in government towards programmatic data sharing rather than using a project-based approach.
- Citizens are increasingly expecting to be served by the government in a manner that is streamlined, efficient, and effective, similar to what major commercial platforms offer.
- Government leaders increasingly want information on which they make decisions to be consistent, current and correct across all services.
- There is a realization that it is the user of data who receives immediate value, while cost and risk lie largely with the provider. This can be addressed by providing feedback on data quality and offering other incentives.
- The demand for data exploitation and analytical tools is beyond the scope of traditional IT or statistics departments.
Building A Successful Data Sharing Program
Data sharing requires compromise, strong sponsorship and political leadership. This means that CIOs must work diligently with stakeholders to develop a comprehensive and well-thought-out data-sharing strategy across multiple scales, while prioritizing value creation and aligning it with government objectives. All parties involved must be willing to assume an increased level of risk regarding the data they previously controlled, as well as acknowledge potential exposure of data inadequacies, in return for contributions to mission delivery or budget savings.
Risk should be shared in the data-sharing environment, as it has implications for both the originator of the data and the user. When data of mixed quality is shared, it not only exposes the originator to criticism due to a perceived lack of control, but also puts the user at risk of making inaccurate decisions based on flawed information. To mitigate these risks, systematic mechanisms need to be established that encourage the flow of corrections back to the data controller.
This is particularly crucial in government settings where they play dual roles as service providers and regulators. However, this unique position presents ethical governance challenges that are absent in the commercial sector. Therefore, it becomes imperative for the data-sharing environment to operate across these differences in a manner that fosters trust among all stakeholders involved. Both the data subject or originator and the data stewards must believe that information is being shared appropriately. It requires a shift from a long-standing culture of compartmentalization, towards leveraging data to serve citizens’ needs and expedite societal progress.
Additional analysis on government technology trends will be presented during Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo 2023 in Kochi, November 28-30.
(The author is Ben Kaner, Senior Director Analyst, Gartner, and the views expressed in this article are his own)
