The Data Dilemma: Tapping technology advances to manage for better public policy outcomes across government

Friday, May 20, 2022; 10:00 am – 11:30 am EST

This event is being organized by two National Academy of Public Administration Standing Panels: the Technology Leadership Standing Panel (Chair Alan Shark and Vice-Chair Theresa Pardo) and the Intergovernmental Systems Standing Panel (Co-chairs Shelley Metzenbaum and Mark Pisano).

Recent crises, in particular the COVID and opioid epidemics, have spotlighted the serious deficiencies in readiness to draw data together across jurisdictions and levels of government to make the data more useful to more government and other decision-makers. Despite significant advances in data collection, knowledge building, information sharing technologies and methods, we continue to encounter massive challenges in using data to improve public policy outcomes. Data and technology challenges abound, however, institutional culture and incentive structures are also barriers when managing to improve outcomes. Intergovernmental arrangements, at the core of efforts to respond to such crises, sometimes exacerbate these challenges. This joint session of the NAPA Intergovernmental Systems and Technology Leadership Standing Panels will focus on the dilemma created when advances in technology need to interface with leadership for better public policy outcomes, on corrective action and recommendations for program managers and CxOs at all levels of government to eliminate the disconnect between efforts to improve outcomes and activities. The session will set the stage for a future NAPA project to address these challenges. Each panelist will be asked to address the following:

• The problem
• A vision for better public policy outcomes across government
• The three biggest barriers to realizing this vision
• The three most important things to do to realize this vision
• Who needs to do these things to advance the vision and bring down or navigate around the barriers?
• What are the incentives needed for doing these things?

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