Page 51 - FCW, August 2017

don’t have information that would help them approach a suspect with greater caution or compassion.
The book also examines applications in transportation, public health, child welfare, prescription drug abuse and fraud prevention, and it highlights both the depth of missed opportunities and the possibility of a brighter future.
As agencies at every level update their IT assets, the book warns CIOs that “acquiring technology
for technology’s sake...rarely achieves the expected outcome.” Instead, the authors argue that the emphasis should be on building
an analytics-driven government and using data to develop stronger analytics capabilities.
“A Practical Guide to Analytics for Governments” lives up to
its title and concludes with a suggested solution. Establishing an official center of analytics could help agencies create a keen awareness of the importance of “building common competency... [that] enhances government analytic success through shared experience.”
Some cities have begun to move in that direction. Boston’s Citywide Analytics Team and the Mayor’s Office of Data Analytics in New York City are hailed for seeking innovative ways to make the most of data.
The authors say such efforts could unite an otherwise polarized political community because “both
Republicans and Democrats value opening the public’s business to citizens.” Indeed, they contend that at a time when citizens increasingly distrust political leaders, “open data can...promote legitimacy.”
More important, though, the authors stress that governments at all levels should be “breaking down barriers to sharing and accessing information...to ensure frontline workers, management and policymakers have the knowledge they need.”
After all, as Shawn McCarthy,
a research director at IDC Government Insights, is quoted as saying about this book, “in many ways, modern government is information.” n
GET DAILY NEWS
Subscribe to
our newsletter!
FROM FCW IN YOUR INBOX!
FCW.com/newsletters
FCW_E-Newsletter_half.indd 1 2/3/17 9:47 AM
August 2017 FCW.COM 45
Sign up to receive insights and analysis on the people, power and policies impacting the business of
federal
technology.