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Central Government

Delivering more for less

8 December 2011

FutureGov discovers how governments can optimise their performance even as they grapple with a multitude of challenges in an uncertain world.

“In the 21st century, government organisations will increasingly face novel and deeply uncertain challenges. In areas ranging from defeating terrorism, to halting new diseases, to spreading democracy and development, to protecting the environment, government will face problems like those of the third ape. New computer-based capabilities offer these organisations the ability to describe ambiguous information concretely, to consider multiple views of the future simultaneously, and to articulate strategies likely to yield favourable outcomes despite deep uncertainty.” (High-Performance Government, edited by Robert Klitgaard and Paul C Light)

Given the multitude of challenges being faced by them on all fronts, public sector organisations need to work hard to create public value and, in turn, earn public trust. Their prime focus has to be on effective delivery of public services while streamlining costs.

Creating Public Value

“Public sector organisations are under constant pressure to do more with less. With budgets strained, resources stretched thin, and a growing emphasis on accountability, organisations need to deliver maximum public value while demonstrating tangible results for all money spent,” explains Paul Marriot, Vice President, Platform & Technology, SAP Asia Pacific Japan.

The key for many central, regional, and local agencies and governments is to gain insight into the performance, costs, and risks inherent in current processes and projects. “The best way of doing this is to have a strong business intelligence and performance management system. With tools such as these, government organisations can develop a better understanding of how funds can be put to work for optimal public benefit. Lack of insight fuels inefficiency,” adds Marriot.

For instance, large amounts of data are being created as a result of the Government of India’s Unique Identification (UID) project. The project aims at providing a unique number to all Indians. The government is working towards creating a database of residents containing data in biometrics. Once the data is created, it will need to be analysed. Business intelligence and analytics would play a crucial role in this space.

Most public sector organisations rely on sophisticated IT systems to support key processes such as social services, tax and revenue management, and public security. While these systems may automate and streamline these processes, they typically do not generate the cost, risk, and performance data that is needed to maximise the value of a given programme or initiative.

This is particularly evident in areas such as performance budgeting and cost management. Often, government agencies lack the insights needed to fund programmes that are most successful. Viable projects may wither while ineffective programmes receive unwarranted support. Agencies must embrace technologies that help them maximise the impact of their budget by funding those programmes that demonstrate the highest potential or best results. Such solutions allow them to define and monitor strategic goals and outcomes, and then make informed decisions based on an analysis of programme costs and outcomes.By integrating budget, cost, and performance data, they can uncover opportunities to allocate money where it will do the most good. The application also helps to manage and measure organisational plans, enabling proactive (rather than reactive) decision making. Law enforcement is another area where innovative solutions are required to help improve operational performance. Facing an ever-growing array of threats and crimes, meeting these challenges depends on optimising the use of assets and resources. Agencies need to embrace solutions that enable them improve on the operational performance of enforcement organisations. “Take for instance, software that helps them predict – and track – crime and threats would allow law enforcement agencies to allocate resources to the most beneficial public safety initiatives,” notes Marriot.

Applications should help in accessing, indentifying and sharing crime and threat data across multiple jurisdictions. Determination of crime patterns should be possible by correlating information from varied sources. There should also be a method to measure and report performance via dashboards, key performance indicators, and reports.

A case in point is the new communication devices being introduced by Malaysia’s police department. The Royal Malaysian Police (RMP) is introducing new digital communication systems such as the Mobile Card Acceptance Device (MCAD), long-range digital radios, computer-based police reporting system, and police report online checking system. MCAD allows police patrol officers to check personal details, vehicle data or past criminal records of suspicious characters they detain and will no longer have to contact headquarters for information.

According to Datuk Zulkifi Abdullah, Director of Federal Logistics Department, RMP, the new system has the ability to combine data and voice and lets police uses SMS communication. The expansion promises to improve police communications to reduce crime rates in the country. Performance and risk management is another critical area. Without proper analytics and resource evaluation tools, many public sector organisations struggle to reduce costs or enhance results-based programmes.

“We need structures that align with functions. We need leaders who are educated and trained to think about both strategy and implementation, with integrity. And we need incentives based on performance,” explains Robert Klitgaard. Klitgaard has been an advisor to many governments on economic strategy and institutional reform and is co-author of High-Performance Government. Agencies need to adopt solutions that help them manage cost-containment initiatives and develop results-based programmes. Applications that allow them to direct funds to effective programmes that support key strategic objectives and desired outcomes.

Comprehensive functionality also helps to consolidate disparate data and create a single version of the truth. Analytics should be used to deliver actionable insights to stakeholders and partners. Agencies should match immediate tasks with long-term goals and leverage process automation to drive efficiency and consistency across the organisation. True, multidimensional value of expenditures should be measured.

Streamlining operations with a focus on speed, agility and efficiency

With every passing day, the pace of business is accelerating. Social media, for instance, has radicalised the way news travels around the world – in many cases, this happens real-time. Tectonic shifts in the global economy combined with rapid technology adoption are forcing decision makers to contend with a new global marketplace fraught with uncertainty and constant change. To be successful under these new market dynamics, organisations must constantly renew their strategies and processes at lightning speed — allowing them to leverage intelligence instantly and take immediate action. At the same time, they must make sure their decisions are informed by proper data and analysis.

“Streamlining operations is very important. The hard part is understanding the systems and customers/clients/citizens well enough to know what can be cut, reduced, even eliminated without ruining the product/service/experience,” adds Klitgaard.

Government agencies, given increasing pressures to deliver world-class services, anywhere, anytime and on any device, have little choice but to continuously reinvent themselves. “Mobility and In-Memory technologies are two approaches. Mobility in public sector allows agencies to safely deliver fast, convenient, and collaborative services,” says Marriot. This can be done in areas such as citizen services, social services, public security, and public administration.

In-Memory Computing enables agencies to deliver real-time services and support to citizens through innovative government in areas such as human resources and services, operations and public security. By incorporating a host of innovative solutions such as the ones outlines above, government agencies can deliver more for less, achieving the critical task of delivering public value while streamlining costs at the same time.

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