Government needs to use analytics more effectively, says academic

Government needs to use analytics more effectively, says academic

Director of Lancaster University's Centre for Forecasting says that the government should use data as the basis for decision making and planning.

The government "lags behind" the private sector on information management, partly because it has not recognised the value of using analytics and forecasting for planning, according to Professor Robert Fildes, director of the Centre for Forecasting at Lancaster University.

Fildes told GGC that one of the reasons for public sector's inadequate information management was down to the culture within these organisations.

"I suppose this is true of both public and private to some extent, but certainly from what me and my team have seen, people aren't supportive enough of the concept of using analytics because to some it may seem like an illusive concept," he said.

Fildes added that another problem in the public sector is that the results of forecasts may not fit with the political plans of government organisations. In fact, such forecasts may suggest movement in a completely different direction, which may not go down well.

He said that the government needs to realise how important using analytics to plan ahead is, adding: "Uncertainty costs money."

Analytics for Government, a joint white paper between Fildes' centre and business analytics software firm SAS, says that the public sector should utilise analytics tools to help meet the challenges of protecting and improving services, particularly when resources are being "squeezed".

The paper acknowledges some good practice of information management in the public sector, highlighting the work of HM Revenue and Customs and the Department for Work and Pensions. It says that HMRC's Connect system has allowed it to integrate and analyse numerous separate data sources to target personal tax fraud with greater speed and efficiency, while the DWP's data matching service helps to identify more than £100m in overpayments annually. Taking note of such examples and sharing best practice will help the public sector to be more efficient.