Smarter Governance: How Local Governments Can Use Data to Drive Resident-Centric Decisions

A lot can be achieved when you can anticipate the next challenge and make the necessary move to turn that into an opportunity. But in order to do this, data must play a central role. Consider this — when a hotel chain located near airports noticed that an average of 3% of flights were being cancelled daily (based on publicly available data), they identified a new customer segment: stranded passengers. By targeting these passengers through timely messaging, they saw a substantial increase in bookings. This is a classic example of how public data, when used wisely, can lead to measurable outcomes.

Local governments can adopt a similar mindset — using available and integrated data to eliminate pressing problems in public transport, traffic, healthcare access, and more. But the challenge often lies in knowing where to start. The solution lies in smarter governance, built on strong data foundations. Here’s how local authorities can begin:

How can local governments use data to drive resident centric decisions? 

Data Consolidation 

At the moment, different local governments are operating like independent islands. Each department often has its own way of storing and managing data, which may be convenient for internal use but can expose citizens to risk. For example, attackers are often aware that breaching a single weak point can provide access to sensitive information across systems.

Data consolidation through centralized CRM platforms can help eliminate these vulnerabilities. Instead of each department working in isolation, a cloud-based CRM allows them to collaborate securely and efficiently. This not only strengthens citizen data protection but also establishes streamlined processes and workflows for the greater public good.

GIS Integration 

There are data silos across local government operations, which hinder cross-departmental and inter-agency collaboration. Every department maintains its own records, often in incompatible formats. GIS (Geographic Information System) integration addresses this by enabling access to standardized, location-based data.

For example, imagine the local government of Tennessee wants to identify the key problems for excessive traffic congestion in the afternoon but they are not able to access the data of different counties in Tennessee due to their server heterogeneity and lack of standardization. But with the help of GIS integration, the spatial or location based attribute of the data can be easily analyzed and evaluated as per the user’s need, which was not possible in the past. That’s how local governments can use GIS Integration to access data of different locations without the challenge of standardization to meet their objectives of achieving resident centric decisions like predicting traffic congestion, crime hotspots, housing shortages so on and so forth and taking necessary measures and and when needed. 

Gov Cloud Hosting 

In the present state, if the governments are using local servers/ traditional means of surveys   to provide benefits to its citizens, in that case, they are going to screw up big time during the time of peak citizen  activity. To eliminate the same, using a cloud hosted platform to not just store data but safeguard the same can help them meet with demand and provide best outcomes. For example, imagine a government having to do a traditional survey vs a digital survey performed through IoTs and other devices and recording the same as per location and accessing the same for necessary actions. 

In this way, data collection will not be restricted by boundaries and location, and everyone/ local governments of every country can quickly see the data and take necessary actions since it will be scalable and readily available. In Pearland, Texas, the digital NCS or The National Community Survey done online showed the need for mobility pushing the city officials to prioritize mobility needs over any other. Now, think about a situation where the local government would have otherwise resorted to traditional surveys to collect and relay data to the necessary governing bodies. It would have taken months, if not years, to come to a conclusion and provide an instantaneous resolve. 

Final Words…

Innovations are happening right at this moment and only those who are ready to embrace the change can create the real difference. If governments, local, state or national level, can come up, assemble and operate at will, it can solve a lot of key pressing problems which have remained accounted for due to the lack of will or technological innovation to take a giant leap forward. 

At VE3, we believe in empowering the public sector with the right digital foundations — from data unification, AI and cloud infrastructure to intelligent analytics — so that every decision made is one that puts residents first. Explore our solutions and offerings to find out more about how we can help enable smarter, data-driven governance. Visit us.

Local Public Services Programme activities

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