Page 34 - Service Delivery Review

Public Sector Data Governance

beds and hospitalisation increases. In South Africa, • Reduced Expenses
the Eastern Cape Provincial Government used dash-
boards with data to help decision-makers track the Sound data governance will reduce data ad-
ups and downs of the pandemic per district. ministration costs and boost the return on
investment (ROI) from data analytics initia-
Apart from its use at the height of the COVID-19 tives. It will also minimise or eliminate poten-
pandemic, there are several other examples in which tial errors, risks and expenses arising from
data and its governance are deliberately used to drive data breaches and thus reduce costs and
service delivery in the Public Sector. But in general, save time and resources.
the systematic adoption rates remain woefully low.
Moreover, Public Sector data is often compromised • Increased data quality
by quality and integrity issues.
Standardisation and enhancement of data
A case for a data governance programme accuracy and consistency should be the
Despite the potential advantages, governments goals of data governance plans. After all,
worldwide are still mostly unable to seize this op- better decision-making depends on quality
portunity. The main factor preventing this is that data data.
tends to be scattered over disjointed datasets (data-
bases utilised by government organisations for a par- • Effective compliance
ticular purpose) and controlled in organisational silos. A robust platform can support the devel-
To unlock the value of this data, there is a need for opment of best-in-class compliance proce-
a data governance policy programme that addresses dures and efficient audit management and
data quality, data ownership, data breach mitigation fulfil several data security regulations.
measures, dataset availability, integrity and transpar-
ency over data usage.
• Holistic perspective
The solution to these - and many data governance-re- Effective data governance provides a single
lated challenges - lies in developing a holistic data version of the truth and a 360-degree view of
governance programme that covers a wide range the Public Service by all stakeholders.
of social and economic sectors. A solid foundation
for data governance could do more than just deci- Not a one-size fits all
sion-making through data. Developing and adopting Organisations must tailor their data governance poli-
a data governance programme for the Public Sector cies to better suit their sectors and objectives. Some
would also foster accountability and trust among might consider outsourcing as an option to mitigate
data users and the public they serve. If correctly im- resource and capacity challenges. Still, regulatory
plemented, data governance offers several benefits, requirements for “big data” might differ in strictness
including the following:
from sector to sector.
• Improved decision-making
Nonetheless, a government-wide data governance
Well-governed data is typically more read- programme remains necessary as it will provide the
ily available and of higher quality. Deci- groundwork for a digital Public Sector and ensure
sion-makers are more likely to gain action- that it is more effective and efficient. Granted, de-
able and significant insights because they veloping a data governance ecosystem that is linked
know where to look for it and what they will up and interoperable is a complex undertaking and
find there. would take time and hard work.

34 SERVICE DELIVERY REVIEW | Volume 15. No. 3 of 2023