Big Data in Public Affairs 1 (original) (raw)
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Public Administration Review, 2016
This article offers an overview of the conceptual, substantive, and practical issues surrounding "big data" to provide one perspective on how the field of public affairs can successfully cope with the big data revolution. Big data in public affairs refers to a combination of administrative data collected through traditional means and large-scale data sets created by sensors, computer networks, or individuals as they use the Internet. In public affairs, new opportunities for real-time insights into behavioral patterns are emerging but are bound by safeguards limiting government reach through the restriction of the collection and analysis of these data. To address both the opportunities and challenges of this emerging phenomenon, the authors first review the evolving canon of big data articles across related fields. Second, they derive a working definition of big data in public affairs. Third, they review the methodological and analytic challenges of using big data in public affairs scholarship and practice. The article concludes with implications for public affairs. Practitioner Points • While "big data" refers to the scale of newly emerging data sets (many observations with many variables), the term also refers to the nature of the data collection process (continuous and automatic), the form of the data collected (structured and unstructured), the sources of such data (public and private), the "granularity" of the data (more variables describing more discrete characteristics of persons, places, events, interactions, and so forth), and the lag between collection and readiness for analysis (ever shorter). • Big data in the public sector is context specific and needs to be meaningfully combined with administratively collected data to have value in improving public programs. • There are important ethical issues, privacy concerns, security and secrecy problems, and feasibility and efficacy issues when using big data for the public good.
2016
The term ‘Big Data’ is often misunderstood or poorly defined, especially in the public sector. Ines Mergel, R. Karl Rethemeyer, and Kimberley R. Isett provide a definition that adequately encompasses the scale, collection processes, and sources of Big Data. However, while recognising its immense potential it is also important to consider the limitations when using Big Data as a policymaking tool. Using this data for purposes not previously envisioned can be problematic, researchers may encounter ethical issues, and certain demographics are often not captured or represented.
Data Makes the Public Sector Go Round
Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 2018
This article summarizes the results of a systematic literature review on how the new data technologies affect the public sector and what their impact on governments are. The opportunities and the challenges that public administrations face nowadays in a data-driven world are important. Our research retrieved opportunities related to transparency, innovation, public participation and efficiency, while challenges regarding privacy issues, technical difficulties, data management, cultural and political obstacles were found. By overcoming the challenges and empowering the opportunities for data usability in public sector, exploitation of data could become the foundation for innovation and public sector transformation.
Public bodies retain, maintain and continue to acquire a wealth of information and content. To the degree that this information is in digital form, and given the pervasive nature of ICT technologies, the value of public sector information (PSI) as a resource is constantly increasing. A large potential of exploiting PSI is remaining untapped, waiting for innovative applications to create added-value by reusing the datasets that are offered today in new and exciting ways.
Public data primacy: the changing landscape of public service delivery as big data gets bigger
Global Public Policy and Governance
The growth and expansion of "Big Data" is fundamentally changing public service delivery. Big Data is getting "bigger," and public organizations will have new opportunities to cultivate and challenges to address. To understand the effects of the growth of data on public organizations, we introduce the Public Data Primacy (PDP) theoretical framework, which builds on existing scholarship through four propositions about data, technology, and its use in the public sector. The framework posits that public sector work will become increasingly data-centric as data continues to get "bigger." Ultimately, the PDP leads to two predictions about the public sector. First, we predict that the primacy of data in the delivery of public services is inevitable. Second, this forthcoming reality will require public servants to adopt new models of public service oriented around data. The PDP theoretical framework provides a systematic lens in which public administration scholarship can evaluate the future of data growth and its impacts upon public service delivery.
Journal of Data and Information Quality, 2021
The public sector, private firms, business community, and civil society are generating data that are high in volume, veracity, and velocity and come from a diversity of sources. This type of data is today known as big data. Public administrations pursue big data as “new oil” and implement data-centric policies to collect, generate, process, share, exploit, and protect data for promoting good governance, transparency, innovative digital services, and citizens’ engagement in public policy. All of the above constitute the Government Big Data Ecosystem (GBDE). Despite the great interest in this ecosystem, there is a lack of clear definitions, the various important types of government data remain vague, the different actors and their roles are not well defined, while the impact in key public administration sectors is not yet deeply understood and assessed. Such research and literature gaps impose a crucial obstacle for a better understanding of the prospects and nascent issues in exploit...
Big Data for Digital Government
Politics and Social Activism: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications
Big data" is one of the emerging and critical issues facing government in the digital age. This study first delineates the defining features of big data (volume, velocity, and variety) and proposes a big data typology that is suitable for the public sector. This study then examines the opportunities of big data in generating business analytics to promote better utilization of information and communication technology (ICT) resources and improved personalization of e-government services. Moreover, it discusses the big data management challenges in building appropriate governance structure, integrating diverse data sources, managing digital privacy and security risks, and acquiring big data talent and tools. An effective big data management strategy to address these challenges should develop a stakeholder-focused and performance-oriented governance structure and build capacity for data management and business analytics as well as leverage and prioritize big data assets for performance. In addition, this study illustrates the opportunities, challenges, and strategy for big service data in government with the E-housekeeper program in Taiwan. This brief case study offers insight into the implementation of big data for improving government information and services. This article concludes with the main findings and topics of future research in big data for public administration.