Innar Liiv - Data for Policy

Summary

Innar Liiv delves into the transformative power of data in policy-making, highlighting initiatives like the European Commission's study on "Data for Policy." He discusses using innovative data sources, such as satellite imagery, to address traditional societal problems, exemplified by identifying poverty levels through roof types. Liiv emphasizes the broader application of data in government operations, advocating for the use of digital footprints to dismantle organizational silos and improve service delivery through understanding service bundles that align with citizens' life events. These innovations aim to enhance governmental efficiency and personalize political engagement.

Highlights

• Studying 'Data for Policy' could revolutionize how we approach governance. 🚀
• Satellite data helps in identifying poverty-stricken areas by examining roof types. 🏠
• Digital footprints from e-government interactions can reveal inefficiencies and improve services. 👣
• Bundled services based on citizen behavior can lead to more efficient government operations. 🛠️
• Data-driven approaches promise to bridge silos in government entities. 🌉

Key Takeaways

• Data is reshaping how governments approach policy-making and implementation. 📊
• Innovative data sources can provide new insights into societal problems, like using satellite data to identify poverty. 🛰️
• Governments can break down silos by utilizing digital footprints, improving service delivery. 🚀
• Understanding how citizens interact with e-government systems can lead to better-served life events. 🔍
• Data can enable personalized and micro-segmented politics, making governance more citizen-focused. 🤝

Overview

Innar Liiv brings forward a fascinating discussion on how data can be integral to policy-making and implementation. He introduces the idea that governments have always used data in policy development, but in today’s digital age, the scale and diversity of data sources offer unprecedented opportunities. Through the European Commission's study, 'Data for Policy,' Liiv elaborates on identifying novel data sources that can solve age-old policy challenges, such as poverty, by utilizing satellite data to differentiate regions based on roof materials.

The conversation highlights another critical area: the transformation of government operations through data-driven insights. Digital interactions with government systems generate 'social trails' or data footprints, which can untangle the often siloed nature of governmental agencies. By studying these interactions, governments can identify necessary service bundles that reflect the real needs arising from citizens' life events, such as divorce, which typically require coordination among various agencies.

Liiv also sees potential in personalizing politics where data is used to provide politicians with feedback on service efficiency and effectiveness. This feedback loop can empower citizens and lead to micro-segmented political strategies, focusing on specific community needs and reducing common bureaucratic hurdles. The ultimate goal, as Liiv states, is to save citizens' time and allow for a smoother interaction with government services, making governance more attuned to individual needs.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 00:30: Introduction to Data for Policy The chapter begins by discussing the role of digital transformation in modern governance. Particularly, it highlights the European Commission's efforts in leveraging data for policy development and management. The involvement of organizations like Technopolis and SEPS in this process is noted, indicating a collaborative approach towards effective policy implementation.
• 00:30 - 02:00: Study on Data for Policy The chapter discusses a study conducted by the Oxford Internet Institute titled 'Data for Policy'. The main objective of this study was to explore how USB data and other new data sources could be utilized to improve policy making. The chapter acknowledges that using data for policy recommendations is not a novel concept, as it has always been a part of the process. However, it suggests that the study aims to investigate and highlight new approaches and innovations in data utilization for policy enhancement.
• 02:00 - 03:00: Traditional vs Novel Data Sources The chapter discusses the challenges of managing the sheer scale of data available from both traditional and novel data sources. It examines how these sources can be utilized in innovative ways to solve existing problems, emphasizing the need to rethink and identify new data sources that can provide fresh insights. The chapter underscores that while there aren’t definitive answers, the exploration of novel data sources is crucial.
• 03:00 - 04:00: Example of Using Satellite Data The chapter discusses the innovative use of satellite data and its impact on addressing policy issues. It highlights the initiatives taken by UN Global Pulse, which includes several projects that utilize satellite data to tackle classical societal problems in innovative ways. The approach emphasizes solving issues by applying new methods and perspectives driven by data and technology.
• 04:00 - 05:00: Government Use of Data Beyond Policy Development The chapter discusses innovative methods of using data to understand and address poverty in various regions. Traditionally, researchers were deployed, and national statistics were analyzed to develop appropriate policies. However, new approaches are emerging, leveraging different data sources to gain insights.
• 05:00 - 06:00: Breaking Down Government Silos with Data This chapter explores a project using satellite data to identify impoverished areas based on the type of roofing. The hypothesis was that poorer regions could be detected by the presence or absence of metal roofs. By counting the number of metal roofs, the project aimed to determine the geographic distribution of wealth and poverty.
• 06:00 - 07:00: Improving Government Services Through Data The chapter titled 'Improving Government Services Through Data' discusses the innovative use of data to enhance government services. It provides practical examples of how data analysis can be used to solve questions more efficiently and at a significantly lower cost compared to traditional methods. For instance, determining the number of metal and non-metal roofs in a region was accomplished with data analysis at a fraction of the cost, yielding results similar to traditional approaches. Overall, it highlights the broader potential of data to improve government operations and decision-making.
• 07:00 - 08:00: Potential for Personalized Politics This chapter explores the potential of personalized politics facilitated by data. The speaker highlights that, beyond policy development, data can significantly transform and improve government operations. One example provided is that of the perception of governments which, historically, are marred by claims, as the speaker began to describe when the transcript cuts off. This transformation through data opens new avenues for enhancing governmental functions and bridging the gap between governments and the public by tailoring political approaches to meet individual needs and preferences.

Innar Liiv - Data for Policy Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 as an aspect of that digital transformation uh as i understand your work has looked at how governments can use data in the development of policy and in the management of that policy uh implementation so uh can you tell me a bit about uh that sure and certainly so european commission commissioned technopolis sepps and
• 00:30 - 01:00 oxford internet institute to do a study which was called data for policy and actually the the main idea of that study was that how can we actually use usb data and no data sources to to make better policy and of course i would i would even say that that people have always used data for for policy recommendations and then making better policy but perhaps the main new
• 01:00 - 01:30 challenge is is first the scale of it and and how much data we have plus uh to think about normal data sources so essentially how the i would actually rephrase the question in a way that how can we and that's that's uh there is no there are no you know complete answers for that but the question would be that what would be those novel data sources which we could use to to solve old
• 01:30 - 02:00 you know policy problems and which which has listed uh recently very many initiatives tell us that this is a is it's called un global pulse and they have they have several projects in their portfolio where they show that uh if if there is this classical societal problem uh how how they have used that or oh sorry how they have solved that or approach that with completely new way
• 02:00 - 02:30 and using using novel sources and and just one one example has been that if if you have a task to understand the poverty of some region then traditional ways to send in researchers or or look into national statistics if there is any in in some parts of the world and and then derive some policies you know depending on your needs but the new approach is actually that what you and global plus had as a as a
• 02:30 - 03:00 as a demo project is to look at the satellite data and they have this wonderful wonderful hypothesis that what if we can see from the satellite which are the poor areas and which are not and they were actually able to define it through um through the type of uh of roofs of houses whether those roofs were metal ones or not and and they actually went on to just to count how many metals
• 03:00 - 03:30 roofs there are in one region and and non-metal roofs and surprisingly the results were quite not exactly the same but approximately the same as traditional ways to solve that solve that question but quite possibly 10 or 100 times cheaper so perhaps those are some of those examples thank you very helpful and good to have the practical examples you've also looked more broadly at the use of data in government uh you know
• 03:30 - 04:00 beyond the development of policy which you've been describing are there other areas that data is going to contribute to uh transformation to changing and improving the way government works absolutely and actually i touched upon some of those issues earlier as well but but actually i would i would make one example so so governments are often people say that they are they are
• 04:00 - 04:30 too silent so that all those organizations are like like almost as if in different silos and they don't communicate with each other and and it's really hard to to take them to digital transformation if they are all different ministries or or different agencies i think that the data can actually solve that and the thing is that again if people are are interacting with with e-garment systems or digital
• 04:30 - 05:00 government in in general then those people are leaving behind those digital footprints which we could call like the social trail or or desire path in in classical sense and and often people's problems actually or actually the the reason why they uh interact with with government are much much bigger than that's one specific agency so just one example so life event called divorce
• 05:00 - 05:30 then they they typically have to communicate to very many different agencies first perhaps change the name deal with tax offices deal with maybe land registries maybe address registers and and whatnot and but though for them it is just a divorce now now data actually if we think about how to use the data more broadly then then we could start to use that data to really see what are those services
• 05:30 - 06:00 which are like actually bundled together by people's behavior and so that we can we could really see which are those most frequently used services but not only single services but services and bundles and and i think that first as i said earlier that this could be used for developing better services but this could actually be like like a feedback even to politicians that that they could actually see what are those services taking
• 06:00 - 06:30 uh the longest and they they could even even develop like a platform for themselves that you know if if you vote for me i will solve this issue you know and and this with that we could we could actually we could move towards like personalized uh politics in a sense or at least like micro segmenting a bit more than than it has been so far so i think that's uh those kind of uh
• 06:30 - 07:00 issues where we can really again keep people or save people's time and and enable them to do something else then this is this should be the ultimate goal you