Francisco Longo, Associate Director General of ESADE and Director of ESADEgov: 'The curve measuring the volume of data storage is reminiscent of the Industrial Revolution'

“If you look at the curve measuring the volume of data storage, it’s reminiscent of the Industrial Revolution in the way that it shoots up suddenly, although in this case the spike happened around 2012 and the affected period is, for now, shorter,” commented Francisco Longo, Associate Director General of ESADE and Director of the Center for Public Governance (ESADEgov), at a recent session entitled “Big Data in the Public Sector”, organised by the ESADE Alumni Public Management Club in collaboration with the Barcelona Open Data Initiative. The session focused on some of the most important aspects that public institutions must address in the field of big data.

Prof. Longo observed that “big data makes continuous, real-time feedback possible and allows you to detect irregularities in a timely manner, personalise and focus interventions, and reduce various types of fraud – not just tax fraud”. He added: “The use of big data makes it possible to move away from a culture of inputs and towards a system of impacts.” Prof. Longo also noted that big data poses challenges related to cybersecurity: “The more data we have, the more vulnerable the systems are.” He added: “This is a type of risk that requires new legal frameworks and governance, which must be global or multi-state.”

Open data in the public sector

Lourdes Muñoz, President of the Barcelona Open Data Initiative, commented: “For today’s companies, data are like a utility. Public-sector data should therefore be open data.” She added: “Open data are the most egalitarian and accessible raw material possible.” The English-speaking countries – especially the United States and the United Kingdom – have been pioneers in establishing open-data policies, she noted. Regarding the debate in the public sector, she noted that “there is an institutional commitment that has changed”, adding that “if data are open, it is easier for anyone with talent to use them and generate greater profits”. She concluded: “Open data is a catalyst. It leads to more control on the part of citizens and assists in decision-making.”

Manu Carricano, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Operations, Innovation and Data Sciences at ESADE, highlighted the need to differentiate between big data in the public sector and in the private sector. Whereas public-sector big data is oriented towards providing value for citizens, private-sector big data focuses on providing value for customers, he explained. Additionally, he noted that big data is applied in the public sector to added-value services, which leads to an increase in trust. “For the public sector, the most important things are truthfulness, data quality and speed,” he observed. “In the public sector, there are also many sources of data integration. In the field of smart cities, for example, we can combine census data with geolocation data and start to integrate the information.” Finally, while discussing the similarities between big data in the public sector and the private sector, he noted: “Solving complex problems in real time is one of the objectives of big data for companies as well as institutions.”

“Big Data in the Public Sector” brought together at ESADE public- and private-sector professionals representing a variety of fields. Most of the speakers agreed on the difficulty of finding professionals who are capable of managing big data and the cultural changes it entails and who know how to obtain high-quality data. The speakers highlighted the importance of involving citizens in the process of defining services, the challenges of managing data in real time, and – especially – the notion that “data are the oil of the 21st century”.