Strengthening data foundations: The key to AI success in the Public Sector

The public sector is at a pivotal moment in its digital evolution. In a digital world, millions of people rely on digital government services each day for everything from passport renewals to filing tax returns, with £26 billion spent annually on public sector technology.

Demand for efficient, citizen-focused services continues to grow, and in the face of challenging economic circumstances and budget tightening, government departments are being urged to find innovative ways of doing more with less.

It has never been more important for public sector technology teams to invest their time, effort and resources into the right initiatives that deliver long-term value — or risk falling behind in an increasingly AI-driven world.

AI is driving a tsunami of productivity enhancements but is public sector data ready?

As with many industries, artificial intelligence is high on the government agenda. Prime Minister Keir Starmer described it as “the defining opportunity of our generation” with the potential to boost efficiency and improve services. The Government Digital Service has already launched an AI Playbook for the UK Government, and over 140 use-cases for AI have been identified, from automating policy documentation drafts to improving fraud detection.

But in January’s State of Digital Government Review, few organisations were noted as having the data maturity, skills and digital leadership that are required to unlock the potential of data and accelerate AI. Data within government departments is often fragmented and underused, with 70% of survey respondents saying their data landscape is not well coordinated, not interoperable, and does not provide a unified source of truth.

AI demands clean, reliable, interoperable data, but this isn’t just a technical issue, it’s a strategic one as well. Public sector organisations without the right data foundations risk missing the moment as AI begins to accelerate everything around them.

Building data capability at scale – the key to AI acceleration

Despite some common challenges, including legacy technology, cloud adoption and cybersecurity, public sector organisations are at different stages of their digital and data transformation journeys. Some have made significant progress in maturing their data capabilities, while many remain reliant on external support for core skills. Regardless of an organisation’s starting point, establishing a robust data capability at scale is critical.

A mature data function enables an organisation to drive and elevate the use of data across all business functions. It supports faster, data-driven decision-making, streamlining of operations and, crucially, adoption of AI at its full potential.

The journey to a mature data capability requires:

• Understanding current data capabilities: A tailored data health check provides critical insights into an organisation’s challenges and opportunities within data.
• Developing a data strategy: A well-defined data strategy outlines short and long-term goals aligned with business priorities with tangible plans plotted on a road map.
• Strengthening data leadership and skills: Building a strong internal capability starts at the top with a data-focused leadership. Establishing cross-functional teams, implementing target operating models and upskilling internal teams ensures organisations can manage and scale data initiatives effectively.
• Building data pipelines, data platforms and data lakes: Make data more accessible, reliable and secure by establishing automated data pipelines from multiple sources and types of data, pulling these into a central unified data platform or data lake for use across the organisation.
• Developing data products and AI use cases:  With strong foundations in place, organisations can develop data products for use across the organisation, including fraud platforms, insight generation tools and Gen AI use cases – knowing that the data that underpins them is secure, clean, accurate and accessible.

Starting the journey to data maturity with a health check

The first step towards greater data maturity is gaining a clear understanding of the starting point – an organisation’s current data capabilities, challenges and opportunities. – in order to set goals and build a strategy for the future.

A data health check is a crucial tool in this process, providing an independent assessment on which to build a roadmap for improvement. We know that every organisation is different, so at Equal Experts, we don’t offer an off-the-shelf data health check, instead tailoring our assessment to the unique challenges and goals of our clients – whether that’s the quality, structure and accessibility of data, data governance or data security.

With a health check, government organisations gain actionable insights into their current situation and can confidently plan impactful next steps on the journey to greater data maturity.

Supporting the public sector at all stages of the journey

With growing pressure to reduce costs, decrease reliance on contractors and improve citizen services, government departments must act now to strengthen their internal data. Without a mature data capability at scale, any AI initiatives risk becoming expensive and ineffective exercises.

Equal Experts has helped numerous public sector organisations unlock the power of their data, regardless of their starting point. We are recognised by Crown Commercial Services (CCS) as one of the few consultancies capable of delivering at scale for central government and are an accredited provider on the latest CCS generation of frameworks, including Digital & Legacy Application Services (DALAS) and Big Data and Analytics (BD&A).

With a model based on experience and expertise, our experts can provide strategy, guidance and hands-on support in the short term, embedding our knowledge and skills so organisations can continue to build and run data services themselves long into the future.

As a partner with HMRC for more than 11 years, we’ve enabled it to transform its data capability at scale, including using data to identify tax fraud  and create an academy to develop the next generation of its data engineers. Similarly, we’re working with public sector leaders such as the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) to embrace AI, including using it within the Software Development Lifecycle.

If your organisation is looking to strengthen its data foundations and be prepared for AI adoption, we can help. Contact us to set up a data health check and take the first step in building a mature data capability to unlock the full potential of data.