Strategic Use of Analytics in Government

Governments use analytics (often described as "business intelligence") to enable and drive their strategies and performance in an ever more volatile and turbulent environment. Analytics and fact-based decision making can make a powerful contribution to the achievement of government missions, just as they are now making to the accomplishment of corporate business objectives.

In their report, Professors Davenport and Jarvenpaa explore several important applications of analytics in government agencies and develop an assessment framework for those that either have not yet embarked on the analytics journey or are still in the early stages. The report focuses on four governmental mission and management areas -health care, logistics, revenue management, and intelligence- to which analytics has been applied.

While the opportunities from analytics for improving efficiency and effectiveness in government appear limitless, there is much less clarity about the readiness of government to embrace analytics. While analytics is often depicted as a technological innovation, Davenport and Jarvenpaa are careful to point out that the use of analytics requires managerial innovation.

Managing for Performance and Results