The data agenda has made great progress under this Government – particularly in the area of transparency. But public servants too often feel left out of the equation or, worse, see transparency as a threat. Too often the public sector looks at big data as a risk, a problem waiting to happen and a potential tool for undermining its work. If Britain is to truly reap the benefits of big data we need to make data – its collection and its use – a boon to public servants, not a burden.

1. Making data a way of life for
public servants
Max Wind-Cowie, Head of Progressive Conservatism, Demos

2. Why data matters in public service
Innovation
Allocation
Understanding
Improvement

3. Innovation
Data can drive public service innovation and
entrepreneurship
Requires inside-out approach – openness, accessibility and
transparency are important
But so is encouraging entrepreneurship within e.g. DWP
ideas generator

4. Allocation
Health and wellbeing boards, PCCs, directly elected
Mayors – all are innovations in the command structures
of public services
But a more fractured, decentralised command structure
requires better data to determine resource allocation and
track progress
Need to be able to drill down, segment and localise data
in order to aide good allocation

5. Understanding
Public servants can discover new need and identify
alternative pathways to meeting need through good
engagement with data
Children taught creative writing – for example – have
been shown through cohort studies to be less at risk of a
range of public health and law and order interventions
Big data is the missing link in payment-by-results, Social
Impact Bonds and long-term service investment

6. Improvement
Big data can also drive day-to-day, technical improvement
across all of those areas
Public servants – properly trained in basic analysis –
should be able to use live data to streamline, improve and
head-off problems in real time

7. We’re not there yet….
There are a number of challenges to embedding big-data in
public servants’ professional lives;
Fear
Skills
Tech

8. Questions….
Max Wind-Cowie
Max.wind-cowie@demos.co.uk
@MuscularLiberal