Public service performance depends on millions of decisions – from those made in the boardroom to those at frontline. At all levels, decision-makers need information to help them make smarter choices. And, as we’re always told, data really is everywhere today. With the rise of different information-gathering tools – from mobile analytics and facial recognition to genAI – the sources of and uses for data keep multiplying.
In other words, for public services today, there is more data available than ever before. Matching that resource with the right tools and techniques to exploit it is the real challenge.
At Leapwise, we have a counter-intuitive take on this: public sector organisations shouldn’t try to draw on all the data available (as tempting as it may be to try.) Often you can make faster progress not by trying to collect ever-more data, but by focusing first on the decisions your police force or local authority needs to make regularly and which drive effectiveness. With those critical decision areas identified, you can then improve them by targeting the most relevant information sources and working to exploit them.
At the strategic level, this usually means leaders using data to support decisions on what they’re trying to achieve, who your organisation serves, the capabilities you prioritise, and your culture. But it’s equally vital to dig into the decisions made at the sharp end of your organisation – the daily choices made a thousand times that shape the service the public receive.
5 Steps for Driving Data-Led Decision-Making
- Start by making sure decisions at all levels are informed by your strategic goals.
- Align your data capture with those goals.
- Build data literacy across the organisation.
- Present data in ways that address human biases and enhance understanding.
- Establish stronger feedback loops to assess past decisions.
- Start by making sure decisions at all levels are informed by your strategic goals. Most organisations stress the importance of aligning individual actions with strategic objectives. More hierarchical organisations, such as in policing or related sectors, understand this especially well. For example, the British Army ensures that every order is framed within the context of the preceding order, ensuring clarity of purpose. Requiring decision-makers to explain how their choices contribute to the broader mission can help minimise low value-add work and keep your organisation tightly focused.
- Align your data capture with those goals. With that prioritisation done, organisations can then prioritise collecting data, making sure it’s high enough quality to support decision-making. While it may be tempting to gather all available data as data capture gets easier and cheaper, being intentional about the purpose of data collection can help streamline information architecture and allow you to focus analytics efforts in the right places.
- Build data literacy across the organisation. While not everyone may be comfortable with data, it’s increasingly a non-negotiable skill for leaders to possess. If leaders don’t ‘get’ the value of information – or know what strong and weak analysis looks like – efforts to enhance data-driven insight may fall short. Wherever possible, organisations should democratise data, enabling more decision-makers to access it – though this also requires concerted effort to foster data literacy so people at all levels know what to do with it.
- Present data in ways that address human biases and enhance understanding. Framing of information is powerful. The order in which choices are presented, how risk and probability are communicated, and even the format used can ‘nudge’ decision-makers in one direction or another. Famously, a picture tells a thousand words, and so visualisation can be harnessed as a powerful tool to enable better decision making – but it can also be misused! Thoughtful presentation of data should ensure clarity, reduce bias, and support better-informed decisions.
- Establish stronger feedback loops to assess past decisions. Implementing feedback mechanisms will allow staff at all levels to understand the outcomes of their decisions. This helps foster a culture of continuous learning, supporting ongoing improvements in decision-making. For example, if an officer decides to issue a warning instead of a fine for a minor traffic violation, feedback on whether this decision led to improved compliance or repeat offenses can help guide future decisions in similar situations. Over time, feedback systems can even create self-improving partially or fully automated decision-making in areas that are heavily rules-based.
Information is an incredibly powerful tool for making better decisions. But taking a targeted and tailored approach is the best way to use it effectively.
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