NSW Data Analytics Centre's plan of action

As the NSW Data Analytics Centre begins its work, we spoke with its head, Dr Ian Oppermann, to find out what’s in store for 2016.

The former CEO of RoZetta Technology and director of the CSIRO Digital Productivity Division, Dr Ian Oppermann, has been tasked with setting up the NSW Data Analytics Centre (DAC) as a core technology centre within the state government.

Dr Oppermann is leading a small team within the Department of Finance, Services & Innovation, and partnering with NSW government agencies and with the industry and research sectors to deliver on the initial priorities for the DAC. GTR asked him what we can expect to see as the centre takes shape in the coming year.

GTR: What is the value (in financial, policy, efficiency or other terms) in centralising the analytics function across an entire government?

IO: The model adopted by the NSW Government does not centralise the analytics function across the entire NSW public sector, but does create a central capability to facilitate the sharing of data and to assist with data analytics projects. The model adopted by the NSW Government minimises duplication and leverages the data analytics capability that exists within government agencies. The value of the DAC is demonstrated through:

• the collection and analysis of cross cluster or whole-of-government data in a secure, central and neutral environment;
• identification of problems or challenges faced by the NSW Government in collaboration with agencies and the private sector (including on improvements and efficiencies in public service delivery) that may benefit from data analytics;
• coordinating consistent definitions and data standards across agencies in collaboration with agency experts (supported by the Information Management Framework) to support improved data sharing;
• its fostering of best practices in analysis, security and the protection of privacy and personal information.

GTR: What obstacles have impeded data sharing and broad use of centralised analytics capabilities in the past?

IO: The DAC is designed to address challenges that include: navigating the procedural and technical complexity around data collection, sharing and use, including effective privacy management; limited ability to draw and interpret relevant insights across government from data due to lack of tools and analytical expertise; and undertaking whole-of-government data linkage and analytics.

The DAC is the central team that will connect existing agency expertise and take a cross-cluster or whole-of-government view on data. The DAC will make it easier to organise, manage and extract insights from the large, diverse datasets held across different agencies. Where NSW Government agencies have shared data with another agency, formal memoranda of understanding are used, which can be time-consuming and resource-intensive to develop. The Data Sharing (Government Sector) Act 2015 (the Act) makes it easier for agencies to share data by providing the authority to actively share data.

Dr Ian Oppermann

GTR: New legislation will enable data sharing across agencies, but how will this be implemented in practice?

IO: An initial tranche of priority projects for DAC has been developed through consultation with key NSW Government agencies. Information on priority projects can be found on our website. In all cases, there will be high-value datasets within agencies which can help inform these projects. As needed, the Act provides a framework for agencies to share data for these projects.

GTR: What sort of regulatory/policy carrots and sticks do you have at your disposal to get agencies involved in the effort?

IO: The Act enables the Minister to direct a government sector agency to provide the DAC with information concerning the government sector data that it controls and to share data with the DAC. This new requirement to share data will help to focus attention on improving services and support in areas of greatest need. Research shows that public sector sharing of data:

• facilitates high-quality, policy-relevant research by sharing and combining data from a variety of sources;
• promotes new research and allows for testing of new or alternative methods of service delivery;
• reduces costs by minimising duplication of effort, particularly in collecting and storing data;
• creates new datasets through linking.

GTR: How much technology guidance will you be providing for member agencies — and how much technological independence will they have?

IO: The DAC provides a central focus for a whole-of-government approach to data analytics. Ultimately, the DAC is assisting agencies to address their own challenges through data and analytical techniques, helping agencies mature their own data and analytical capability and helping foster an increased awareness of the potential of policy which is informed by data-rich sources.

The DAC will identify best practice, connect and share capability between agencies, as well as facilitating sharing data across agency boundaries.

GTR: What other jurisdictions or best practices are you calling on to guide development of your analytics effort?

IO: The DAC is the first of its kind in Australia. We have taken the best elements of public sector data sharing and analytics practice from around the world, including drawing on the lessons of existing activities and pockets of excellence within NSW Government and in other jurisdictions.

GTR: How will you streamline the data acquisition process to ensure available datasets are both current and accurate?

IO: Onboarding each new dataset requires the essential steps of identification, extracting, transforming and loading (ETL). Many commercial ETL solutions exist to do the most basic work; however, each dataset requires some manual intervention. Fortunately, many agencies have developed local solutions for the datasets they most commonly use.

As a consequence, the DAC will build a library of these ETL processes as well as data products which are used within existing projects and may be useful for future projects. Within an appropriate governance and technology framework, the DAC will take on curatorial responsibility for data products developed from multiagency datasets produced from each project. Respecting the requirement for adherence to privacy legislation, these data products could be of great value for future projects.

GTR: What level of private participation will be encouraged in the development of this policy or its ongoing execution?

IO: Collaboration with industry and the research and academic sectors is an important feature of how the DAC works. The DAC will be building partnerships to bring industry and research capability to bear on analytics challenges. It will also draw on models developed in industry to inform its own approaches to complex data sharing and analytics methodologies, including the development of best practice in managing requirements around the proper protection of personal information. The DAC will also work with the private sector on opening up data to inform government policy, in accordance with the NSW Government’s open data policy. Encouraging industry to open its data could encourage new insights and innovation.

GTR: How will the success of the centre be judged — eg, hard metrics, productivity measures — and is there some sort of set ROI for it?

IO: Each DAC project will be identified and evaluated, individually against each project’s specific benefits. Broadly, however, the DAC seeks to address the following issues: how can we make existing operations more efficient through data and analytics; how can we make existing services more effective through data and analytics?; and how can we create new services that address the priority challenges facing the community through data and analytics?

Image credit: ©iStockphoto.com/Oleksiy Mark