Big data for policymaking: fad or fasttrack?

Abstract

The buzz surrounding big data has taken shape in various theoretical and practical forms when it comes to policymaking. The paper combines current research streams with long-standing discussions on government and technology in public policy and public administration, such as e-government and evidence-based policymaking. The goal is to answer the question whether big data is a fleeting trend or has long-lasting effects on policymaking. Three larger themes in the literature are identified: First, the role that institutional capacity has within government to utilize big data analytics; second, government use of big data analytics in the context of digital public services; and finally, the way that big data information enters the policy cycle, focusing on substantive and procedural policy instruments. Examples from the education, crisis management, environmental and healthcare domain highlight the opportunities and challenges for each of these themes. Exploring the various aspects of big data and policymaking shows that big data is here to stay, but that its utilization by government will take time due to institutional barriers and capacity bottlenecks.

Unraveling the hindering factors of digital public service delivery at street-level: the case of electronic health records

“…Kitchin (2014) also points toward the overemphasis on the technology rather than more profound organizational reform. The focus on the technological dimension of implementing digital tools pulls resources from setting up information management systems that address the ways in which data are integrated into decision-making for civil servants (Giest 2017). Andersen and Henriksen (2006) further highlight that while digital strategies are developed at national level, the connection of the technology to the individual case worker and the citizen-client is often disregarded.…”

Evolving Government Information Processes for Service Delivery: Identifying Types & Impact

“…Firstly, new sorts of datasets (e.g., social media data, mobile phone data, GPS signals, website clickstream data, sensor data etc.) offer possibilities to combine these data with traditional government information, mainly survey data and administrative data (Giest 2017;Mergel et al 2016). Secondly, advanced analyzing techniques (e.g., complex algorithms, machine learning and statistic correlations) enable governments to build prediction models, to discover hidden patterns and anomalies, to assess sentiments and to customize service delivery (Deloitte 2016;Mergel et al 2016;Technopolis Group et al 2015;Van der Sloot and Schendel 2016).…”

Public Values in the Age of Big Data: A Public Information Perspective

“…According to Bannister and Connolly (, p. 120) a value is “a mode of behavior, either a way of doing things or an attribute of a way of doing things, that is held to be right.” Bannister and Connolly () also note that the introduction of new technologies can alter the balance of values leading to these governance dilemmas. For example, policymakers hope that algorithmic formulas in areas such as detecting tax fraud or allocating carbon emission credits will deliver a higher level of standardized, machine‐based decision making, and therefore align with the value of equal treatment to all citizens (Giest, ). However, ambiguously, big data is also supposed to deliver personalized public services that must distinguish between types of citizens and organizations (Janssen & Kuk, ).…”