AGIMO locks in big data strategy

The Australian Public Service Big Data Strategy has received official sign off from the Government’s peak ICT board and will now become the formal guide for the use of Canberra’s significant information stores.

“Big data is an area of great interest across the Government and more generally across industry, academia and society," Australian Government CIO Glenn Archer said on launching the final plan.

"It is expected that this interest will continue to build as new analytical tools evolve, and as we move towards implementing the actions outlined in the strategy.” 

The Secretaries’ ICT Governance Board gave the strategy (pdf) its tick of approval earlier this week, but the now formalised document adds very little to the draft plan that was released by the Australian Government Information Management Office (AGIMO) in June. It comes after an extended consultation period and input from “many people and organisations,” according to Archer.

The new document does, however, introduce the Australian Government’s two-line vision statement for big data for the first time.

“The Australian Government will use big data analytics to enhance services, deliver new services and provide better policy advice, while incorporating best practice privacy protections and leveraging existing ICT investments.

“The Australian Government will be a world leader in the use of big data analytics to drive efficiency, collaboration and innovation in the public sector,” it states.

The strategy seeks to define big data for the reference of interested agencies, outlines the relevant privacy and security implications, and lays out six actions to be fulfilled by the Government.

The actions are dominated by the production of a series of guidance documents covering better practice, key barriers to big data analytics, the responsible use of data and registers of agency information that is available for sharing and re-use.

They also set in motion a series of big data pilot projects, which will be supported the existing Big Data Working Group and new whole-of-government Data Analytics Centre of Excellence (DACoE) lead by the Tax Office.