How Government Could Boost Its Performance by Harnessing Big Data by Robert Atkinson, President, Information Technology and Innovation Foundation.
From the post:
- Electric power utilities can use data analytics and smart meters to better manage resources and avoid blackouts,
- Food inspectors can use data to better track meat and produce safety from farm to fork ,
- Public health officials can use health data to detect infectious disease outbreaks,
- Regulators can track pharmaceutical and medical device safety and effectiveness through better data analytics,
- Police departments can use data analytics to target crime hotspots and prevent crime waves,
- Public utilities can use sensors to collect data on water and sewer usage to detect leaks and reduce water consumption,
- First responders can use sensors, GPS, cameras and better communication systems to let police and fire fighters better protect citizens when responding to emergencies, and
- State departments of transportation can use data to reduce traffic, more efficiently deploy resources, and implement congestion pricing systems
Numbering added for ease of reference.
By the numbers:
- Electric power utilities…[investment in smart meters required and blackouts are usually the result of system failure, monitoring demand isn’t going to help].
- Food inspectors… [without adequate food inspectors to enforce standards, tracking potentially unhealthy food isn’t all that interesting a problem],
- Public health officials… [already use data to detect disease outbreaks, how did you think it happened?],
- Regulators can track… [to do what?, medical devices are already tracked],
- Police departments… [police officers don’t know the usual crime spots? need to get different police officers],
- Public utilities… [only if they have the sensors and the ability to affect repairs],
- First responders… [being able to talk to each other would have a higher priority, most still don’t, ten years after 9/11], and
- State departments of transportation… [counting cars will reduce their numbers?, I have to tell our local transportation department].
“Big data” is the flavor of the month but it doesn’t improve your credibility to invoke “big data” when there is none to be seen.
Let’s not make the same mistake with semantic identity topics.