The National Association of State Chief Information Officers released a report Wednesday with tips for state governments looking to improve their data literacy.
The report, titled “Data Literacy in State Government: Building a Knowledgeable Workforce That Knows How to Use Data for Better Decision-Making,” identifies data literacy for organizations seeking to use artificial intelligence and generative AI. points out that the importance of However, last year’s annual NASCIO survey found that only 16% of states have formal data literacy programs in place.
Eric Sweden, program director for NASCIO’s Enterprise Architecture and Governance division, called data literacy an “essential competency.”
“This will enable everyone to better fulfill their role in state government,” Sweden said in a video announcing the release of the report. “What we want are hard insights that can inform decision makers. These insights require quality data, and only if everyone has some level of data literacy. We’re getting high-quality data, and as states pursue advanced technologies in artificial intelligence and generative AI, data quality will become even more important.”
The new report is based on recommendations from a panel of state chief data officers who shared what works best within their organizations to improve data literacy and build a “data culture” within their organizations . They also listed six key “competencies” related to data literacy, including “understanding the importance of data” and “knowing how to prepare and analyze data.”
Indiana Chief Data Officer Josh Martin, one of the officials surveyed by NASCIO for the report, told StateScoop that understanding the importance of data aims to improve data literacy. He said this is one of the most important challenges for the state.
“A lot of people think they don’t have a data job, but the reality is everyone in government has a data job,” Martin said in a phone interview. “You can spend your time in this time management system and get paid to collect citizen data, transcribe it from paper to the system, or to provide better services or analyze policy. Is it by using backend data?
The NASCIO report says data can be used within state governments to inform a wide range of questions, including who agencies should hire and how emergency services can get to the scene of an accident the quickest. However, the report argues that using data effectively requires widespread support.
“To move the culture in the direction of data literacy, leaders should leverage employees who already understand the essential value of data literacy and reach out to those who are not yet there,” the report states. is written. “Communication, marketing and change management are important disciplines that must be adopted to effectively reach and gain empathy from other stakeholders.”
NASCIO also notes that its “AI Blueprint” report published last December cited data quality as a key consideration for states. The new report includes recommendations from states that are doing well with their data work. This includes gaining executive support, publishing a data literacy policy, establishing data governance, and building a network of “data stewards.”
Martin said getting people inside government to consider data in their daily work can be as difficult as any other business culture change.
“Whether it’s a data culture or a professional culture, it just takes time and it can be very difficult to get traction in that area,” he said. “Even if you’re interested in data, it can be very difficult for people to get access to it or access it. One of the things we’re doing with the Management Performance Hub is It’s about bringing these people together through the Data Governance Council and continuing to have discussions and talk about common challenges and opportunities. That’s been really, really helpful.”
The report recommends listening to everyone, including the “naysayers,” which NASCIO says can uncover barriers to the adoption of new data practices. Martin said even government IT workers are among those who need education on data literacy.
“When they do a system implementation, they usually don’t think about the secondary uses of the data; that is, how names are stored in name fields, they look at standards, and they don’t have specific rules for data entry. We will look at how to set it up,” he said. “It’s a simple thing that people don’t think about because they’re thinking about cybersecurity and operational capabilities and whether their transaction systems can reliably execute transactions, but you can’t just write down the business definition of the fields that are in there. was important.”
