May 17, Canberra – the Australian Government Data Forum brought together approximately 300 participants, primarily from the Australian Public Service. The forum aimed to explore how data can inform the development of policies and programs that accurately reflect the current trends within the Australian community.

As an attendee, I was encouraged by the presentations and the level of commitment shown by the Government. Overall it was a great event and I’m sure it will grow from strength to strength. However, as someone with an overly excited appreciation for what possibilities await us in the future, I just want to further evangelise just how important data is.  So, please let me fail to adequately explain how data is living rent-free in your head and why the quality of such house guests matters to society.

First, on being you, in three points:  

  1. Everything lives in your head, that is just the way it is. 
  2. What you observe has a fair chance of getting into your head, one way or another.
  3. The quality of information shoved in your face matters, you become that quality.

Now, it takes a village to raise a child, and ours is digital, global and connected. The village elders are our public institutions. We need their guidance and their actions to support civil society. The best liberal democratic way of doing this, I suggest, is via evidenced based policies, backed by publicly available and verifiable data. 

Let’s accept a genuine self-truth, we’re all kids when it comes to most of the big challenges our society faces. We can have a mature and informed understanding of some challenges, but not all the challenges. As such, we all need the support of our public institutions to raise us up to decent standards on key issues.

Unfortunately, information pollution can make it near impossible for regular folk to inform themselves. It is even worse if we don’t have a clear and trusted voice coming from our public institutions. With questionable information being put in front of us, we risk becoming questionable actors in our own society.  

My appreciation of the Australian Government Data Forum, and my excitement about the future of data being leveraged for the public good more generally, exists because I know we have the will and the means to do both data and digital better. 

It was a great discussion on technology, governance, policy and capabilities surrounding data this week, and with consultation on the Australian Government’s initial Data and Digital Government Strategy commencing soon, there is more to come. I encourage everyone to read the strategy and look for ways they can support our public institutions as they strengthen their data capabilities.

With strengthened public institutions, data and digitally capable of meeting the needs of our communities, we will continue to raise up our children, ourselves and our society.  Plus, in a healthy information space there will be less to fear about all those inevitable house guests knocking about in our heads.