The process of transforming government services in administrations around the world has been focused largely on two main issues: technology and information. Using best practices and technologies that have enabled the modernisation of other governments, South Africa could provide unthought-of choice, convenience and simplicity for its citizens.
“President Jacob Zuma has said that government should make people’s lives easier. Using the right IT systems in government is a way to make that happen,” says Gerald Naidoo, CEO of specialist systems integration house Logikal Consulting.
“Social, economic, and political pressures are placing increasing demands on government and the public sector companies that work within it to make smarter decisions, deliver results and be more accountable. Technology solutions such as predictive analytics can help improve all spheres of government: social services, utilities, local government, and even policing.”
All of the services government provides are based on one common component: data. The successful understanding and analysis of data is the basis on which proficient governance rests. Knowing how many citizens rely on services, what these services entail, and how they are delivered.
However, a recent study by IBM’s Institute for Business Value found that public-sector leaders struggle with overwhelming volumes of data and have difficulty effectively analysing it.
“It’s not a question of getting more information, but bringing together and analysing relevant information. Companies across all industries have recognised the need for more insight into their business, which involves making the right decision based on the right information, at the right time. Why shouldn’t government make use of the same capabilities?” asks Naidoo.
“Big government” leads to big data, and the increasingly connected world of today leads to huge volumes of information produced by citizens and government agencies alike. This overwhelming amount of data has resulted in a “data paradox”, according to the IBM study, with little insight achieved despite the volumes of information available.
The public sector analytics professionals surveyed by IBM reported spending 47% of their time collecting and organising data and less than a third of their time analysing it.
“Predictive analytics is essential to improved decision making for public sector organisations at all levels. Realtime information that can be analysed and acted on will enable greater efficiency and transparency. We are currently witnessing an absence of access to information that analytics can provide.
“Used properly in government, analytics can enable a complete turnaround in service delivery through the understanding of what the current situation is and what the likely future circumstances will be,” says Naidoo.
Using best practices and technologies that have enabled the modernisation of other governments, South Africa could provide unthought-of choice, convenience and simplicity for its citizens.
Choice in terms of having available, alternative service delivery channels to complement the traditional channels of walk-in office visits, written communications and telephone calls; convenience concerning when (and how) citizens could interface with government; and simplicity relating to the interactions between citizens and government.
“Analytics enables all of this,” Naidoo says. “The ever-increasing data volumes provide the ‘what’ and analytics provide the ‘how’ of better decision-making in government. Analytics goes beyond reporting and offers the public sector a means with which to take action based on informed decisions.”