What Does It Take to Make Public Data Usable?

Substack/Rebecca Mbaya

This Substack account spotlights visionary changemakers in Africa. This interview spotlights a Namibian data analyst who moves between economic analysis, public-sector data systems, and the mechanics of decision-making, where the quality of evidence matters less than whether organizational leaders are actually able to use it.

Oversight Community Wrestles with Challenges to Independence

Federal News Network

A mid-January workshop hosted by Virginia Tech’s School of Public and International Affairs discussed the near- and long-term challenges facing the federal oversight community.

Building Better Systems for Measuring, Managing, and Reporting on the SDGs

Public Money & Management

The UN’s 2030 Sustainable Development Goals need credible, transparent, and actionable sustainability reporting in the public sector. This volume of the PM&M Journal is devoted to exploring progress and challenges

The New KPIs for City Innovation

Bloomberg Cities Network

After decades of research into how cities can better use innovation to improve lives, the research shows that performance metrics tell only part of the story. The University College London Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose have developed new KPIs for city innovation.

Giving Front-Line Employees Direct Access to Their Performance Data

International Review of Administrative Sciences (free PDF download)

This study demonstrates the effect of replacing traditional manager-led feedback with transparent performance data. The effects depend on the type of performance metrics, the quality of the employee-supervisor relationship, and the differences in employee motivation types.

Resource of the Week:  The Data Skills Network

Apolitical (a free, global, online community for public sector practitioners)

This network within Apolitical is an online community to build your data skills through connection and conversation with peers across government. This space is open to all, whether you consider yourself a data novice or a data expert.