Data Literacy: A key to the digital transformation of the public sector
Data literacy in public administrations is essential for digital transformation and a resilient state. Employees in the public sector should be able to manage, critically evaluate and use data for strategic decision-making. A data-competent healthcare system, for example, enables the early detection of disease outbreaks and the initiation of preventive measures or a more efficient distribution of resources to improve healthcare in undersupplied areas. Likewise, in education, strong data literacy and the right software can identify shortcomings in the education system or help to evaluate educational programs. Urban planning, environmental preservation, economic development and crisis management are also areas that can benefit from improved data literacy among employees.
The study „The Human Impact of Data Literacy“ by Qlik and Accenture from 2020 shows that the German population fundamentally suffers from a lack of data literacy. According to the study, only 17% of all workers in Germany have the ability to work effectively with data and use data to make strategic decisions. Worldwide, the corresponding figure is only 21%. Reading, processing and evaluating data is too overwhelming for 74% of all employees globally. Especially noticeable: Due to the just mentioned reasons, around 36% of participants worldwide avoid working with data completely.
How the public sector develops data literacy
Recently, the federal chairman of the german civil service association, Ulrich Silberbach, demanded massive investment in the further education and training of public employees in the ongoing digitalization process. Some public offers are already existent. The eGov-Campus offers an open-access learning platform for data literacy, which is completely free of charge and enables further training in the world of data. It is an educational service offered by the IT Planning Council and is operated by FITKO (Federal IT Cooperation) and the German University of Administrative Sciences. The Stifterverband has developed the Data Literacy Charta together with numerous partners. It is intended to formulate a common understanding of data literacy and its importance for educational processes.
Data Academy, Polyteia's free learning platform for the public sector
The Polyteia Data Academy supports employees in the public sector in developing and expanding their data literacy. As a free of charge learning platform, the Data Academy addresses all administrative employees. It lays particular focus on practical relevance that can be immediately translated into day-to-day-work. Our experts deliberately avoid dry theory in our various online courses and training videos. The Data Academy’s interactive online courses cover a wide range of topics, including data visualization, data transformation, data platforms, data governance, artificial intelligence and much more.
An additional advantage: The Data Academy offers access to a community of administrative employees. As a result, they can exchange ideas and share experiences within the lessons. There are also flexibel modules that are tailored precisely to the knowledge and interests of individual users. The learning pace is completely flexible and can be adapted to the needs of each individual.
You work in the public sector and would like to know more? You can register for the Data Academy quickly and easily via this link.
