“Government of the Future” was the theme of this year’s World Government Summit (WGS) in Dubai. The annual WGS is three-day international high-level conference hosted by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with more than 4,000 participants, and over 100 distinguished global leaders from over 120 countries.
Keynotes from World Bank Group President, Jim Yong Kim, IMF Managing Director, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio
This was a fitting backdrop for the World Bank’s high-level panel and technical workshop on the topic of “Big Data: The Next Frontier of Government”. Organized by the Bank’s Global Governance Practice and Big Data team, the panel was moderated by BBC technology correspondent, Rory
Big data is a term widely used to describe the exponential growth of data, particularly the data flowing from mobile phones, satellites, ground sensors, and social media. It also explains the rise of the computing technologies and algorithms that use big data for valuable insights. In the public sector, big data typically refers to the use of non-traditional data sources and data innovations to make government solutions more responsive and effective.
Joining the panel to discuss how big data can contribute to smarter, more responsive public services, policy design, and civic engagement
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● Brandon Barnett, Director of Corporate Strategy, Intel Corporation
● Robbie Schingler, Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Planet
● Deborah Wetzel, Senior Director, Governance Global Practice, World Bank
Rory
Robbie Schingler from Planet explained that he and his colleagues – all ex-NASA data scientists – were about to travel to India for a record-setting launch of 88 micro-satellites-satellites into orbit.
In our new world economy, public organizations, and private firms alike must be able to recognize and respond to change. Today, it may be more important to understand flows,
Brandon Barnett, Director of Corporate Strategy, from Intel discussed strategy as systems
Another important topic discussed by panelists was how to use big data to improve services provided by government such as water or education, without compromising citizen privacy and rights.
Deborah Wetzel, Senior Director for the World Bank’s Governance Global Practice, shared examples of how the World Bank is using big data to improve service delivery in public health and in procurement reform. Ms. Wetzel underscored the importance of “public-private partnerships and strong institutional environments”, as discussed in the World Bank’s the 2017 World Development Report, to shape the responsible use of big data for public good.
Robbie Schingler added
In addition to this panel, the Governance Global Practice along with the big data program organized a pre-summit technical workshop on “big data for better government”. The workshop brought together twenty-five big data experts to share knowledge and develop solution prototypes for various applications in government.