In a recent commentary for the Federal News Network, Kshemendra Paul – a leading expert in using data and technology to improve government management and information sharing – put forward his personal recommendations to reduce fraud, waste and abuse across the whole of government. Assessing the government’s expansive bureaucracy, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and agency inspectors general (IGs) have identified numerous “instances of overlap, redundancy and duplication.”
According to Paul, creating and utilizing a common operating picture (COP) where the government can access a centralized data hub would allow improved management of its programs and operations. Using modern data management and analytics, entity resolution, and artificial intelligence to tie together federal data regarding budget, human capital, assets, procurement, and payroll, while also making use of non-federal, crowd-sourced, and commercial data. The implementation of COP and its comprehensive, data-informed view of government operations would enhance efficiency; reduce fraud (about 3% to 7% of federal spending according to GAO estimates for 2018 to 2022); and increase performance and accountability.
The implementation of COP not only has vast potential for government improvements in effectiveness and efficiency, but also in its responsibility to the American public. The transparency and accountability associated with integrating COP would lead to better outcomes for everyone with a stake in government.
See the Executive Summary of this article via the IBM Center for The Business of Government here.