IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/sagope/v13y2023i4p21582440231215123.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Big Data-Driven Public Policy Decisions: Transformation Toward Smart Governance

Author

Listed:
  • Md Altab Hossin
  • Jie Du
  • Lei Mu
  • Isaac Owusu Asante

Abstract

Big data analytics (BDA) enhances knowledge and decision-making. Despite its importance, the connection between technical progress and political change is neglected in the administrative process. Most studies focus on e-government, e-governance, and how technology can improve existing operations of the bureaucracy. However, this article aims to explore the potential of BDA for public policy systems and provide a linkage for the transformation toward digital and smart governance using preferred reported items for systematic review and meta-analysis (PRISMA) approach to reveal the relevant documents and narrative review approach to interpret the application of BDA at each step of the public policy system. In addition, this study identifies several common public policy-related big data sources and techniques that could be used at the various stages of the public policy process. This study argues that BDA has the potential to be used for policy formulation in the four main phases—planning, design, service delivery, and evaluation. Most studies confirm its potential in the policy process for taxation, health, education, transportation, law, economy, and social system. This study reveals that it is also suitable for public policy execution stages, such as public supervision, public regulation, service delivery, and policy feedback. Previous studies have indicated that the application of BDA can transform traditional or manual governance systems into digital and smart governance. We contend that the policy cycle should be seen as a dynamic and iterative process characterized by continuous evolution. Though each step of transformation has its unique challenges in handling BDA and maintaining the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure, it can ensure an accurate, prompt, and context-oriented public policy system. These insights provide a novel outlook on effectively managing the interplay between innovation and traditional approaches in the realm of public policy development.

Suggested Citation

  • Md Altab Hossin & Jie Du & Lei Mu & Isaac Owusu Asante, 2023. "Big Data-Driven Public Policy Decisions: Transformation Toward Smart Governance," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(4), pages 21582440231, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:sagope:v:13:y:2023:i:4:p:21582440231215123
    DOI: 10.1177/21582440231215123
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/21582440231215123
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/21582440231215123?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Stephen P Osborne & Zoe Radnor & Kirsty Strokosch, 2016. "Co-Production and the Co-Creation of Value in Public Services: A suitable case for treatment?," Public Management Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(5), pages 639-653, May.
    2. Bram Klievink & Bart-Jan Romijn & Scott Cunningham & Hans Bruijn, 2017. "Big data in the public sector: Uncertainties and readiness," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 19(2), pages 267-283, April.
    3. Marijn Janssen & David Konopnicki & Jane L. Snowdon & Adegboyega Ojo, 2017. "Driving public sector innovation using big and open linked data (BOLD)," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 19(2), pages 189-195, April.
    4. Anke Joubert & Matthias Murawski & Markus Bick, 2023. "Measuring the Big Data Readiness of Developing Countries – Index Development and its Application to Africa," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 25(1), pages 327-350, February.
    5. Katherine Daniell & Alec Morton & David Ríos Insua, 2016. "Policy analysis and policy analytics," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 236(1), pages 1-13, January.
    6. David Moher & Alessandro Liberati & Jennifer Tetzlaff & Douglas G Altman & The PRISMA Group, 2009. "Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses: The PRISMA Statement," PLOS Medicine, Public Library of Science, vol. 6(7), pages 1-6, July.
    7. Georgiadou, Elena & Angelopoulos, Spyros & Drake, Helen, 2020. "Big data analytics and international negotiations: Sentiment analysis of Brexit negotiating outcomes," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 51(C).
    8. Ju, Jingrui & Liu, Luning & Feng, Yuqiang, 2018. "Citizen-centered big data analysis-driven governance intelligence framework for smart cities," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 42(10), pages 881-896.
    9. Ola G. El‐Taliawi & Nihit Goyal & Michael Howlett, 2021. "Holding out the promise of Lasswell's dream: Big data analytics in public policy research and teaching," Review of Policy Research, Policy Studies Organization, vol. 38(6), pages 640-660, November.
    10. Laurie A. Schintler & Rajendra Kulkarni, 2014. "Big Data for Policy Analysis: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly," Review of Policy Research, Policy Studies Organization, vol. 31(4), pages 343-348, July.
    11. Kinra, Aseem & Beheshti-Kashi, Samaneh & Buch, Rasmus & Nielsen, Thomas Alexander Sick & Pereira, Francisco, 2020. "Examining the potential of textual big data analytics for public policy decision-making: A case study with driverless cars in Denmark," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 68-78.
    12. Ivana Semanjski & Rik Bellens & Sidharta Gautama & Frank Witlox, 2016. "Integrating Big Data into a Sustainable Mobility Policy 2.0 Planning Support System," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(11), pages 1-19, November.
    13. Sarah Giest, 2017. "Big data for policymaking: fad or fasttrack?," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 50(3), pages 367-382, September.
    14. Mario Bellia & Sara Maccaferri & Sebastian Schich, 2022. "Limiting too-big-to-fail: market reactions to policy announcements and actions," Journal of Banking Regulation, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 23(4), pages 368-389, December.
    15. Katherine A. Daniell & Alec Morton & David Ríos Insua, 2016. "Policy analysis and policy analytics," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 236(1), pages 1-13, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Justin Longo & Alan Rodney Dobell, 2018. "The Limits of Policy Analytics: Early Examples and the Emerging Boundary of Possibilities," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 6(4), pages 5-17.
    2. Abuljadail, Mohammad & Khalil, Ashraf & Talwar, Shalini & Kaur, Puneet, 2023. "Big data analytics and e-governance: Actors, opportunities, tensions, and applications," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 193(C).
    3. Lawarée, Justin & Jacob, Steve & Ouimet, Mathieu, 2020. "A scoping review of knowledge syntheses in the field of evaluation across four decades of practice," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    4. Maria Franca Norese & Diana Rolando & Rocco Curto, 2023. "DIKEDOC: a multicriteria methodology to organise and communicate knowledge," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 325(2), pages 1049-1082, June.
    5. Paul Baustert & Tomás Navarrete Gutiérrez & Thomas Gibon & Laurent Chion & Tai-Yu Ma & Gabriel Leite Mariante & Sylvain Klein & Philippe Gerber & Enrico Benetto, 2019. "Coupling Activity-Based Modeling and Life Cycle Assessment—A Proof-of-Concept Study on Cross-Border Commuting in Luxembourg," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(15), pages 1-24, July.
    6. Hui Zhang & Huiying Ding & Jianying Xiao, 2023. "How Organizational Agility Promotes Digital Transformation: An Empirical Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-13, July.
    7. Lang, Dengxiao & Ertsen, Maurits W., 2023. "Modelling farmland dynamics in response to farmer decisions using an advanced irrigation-related agent-based model," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 486(C).
    8. Roel Heijlen & Joep Crompvoets & Geert Bouckaert & Maxim Chantillon, 2018. "Evolving Government Information Processes for Service Delivery: Identifying Types & Impact," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 8(2), pages 1-14, May.
    9. Abdul Karim Feroz & Hangjung Zo & Ananth Chiravuri, 2021. "Digital Transformation and Environmental Sustainability: A Review and Research Agenda," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-20, February.
    10. Simonofski, Anthony & Handekyn, Phebe & Vandennieuwenborg, Celien & Wautelet, Yves & Snoeck, Monique, 2023. "Smart mobility projects: Towards the formalization of a policy-making lifecycle," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    11. Yves Meinard & Irene Pluchinotta, 2022. "C-KE/I: A pragmatic framework for policy innovation," Post-Print hal-03881635, HAL.
    12. Michaela Kollarova & Tomas Granak & Stanislava Strelcova & Jozef Ristvej, 2023. "Conceptual Model of Key Aspects of Security and Privacy Protection in a Smart City in Slovakia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-19, April.
    13. Nicolas Fayard & Chabane Mazri & Alexis Tsouki`as, 2021. "Is the Capability approach a useful tool for decision aiding in public policy making?," Papers 2101.09357, arXiv.org.
    14. Sarah Giest & Annemarie Samuels, 2020. "‘For good measure’: data gaps in a big data world," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 53(3), pages 559-569, September.
    15. Adebanji, Atinuke & Rios Insua, David & Ruggeri, Fabrizio, 2022. "Dynamic linear models for policy monitoring. The case of maternal and neonatal mortality in Ghana," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    16. Jacob Torfing & Eva Sørensen, 2019. "Interactive Political Leadership in Theory and Practice: How Elected Politicians May Benefit from Co-Creating Public Value Outcomes," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 9(3), pages 1-18, July.
    17. İlkay Unay-Gailhard & Mark A. Brennen, 2022. "How digital communications contribute to shaping the career paths of youth: a review study focused on farming as a career option," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 39(4), pages 1491-1508, December.
    18. Mahin Ghafari & Vali Baigi & Zahra Cheraghi & Amin Doosti-Irani, 2016. "The Prevalence of Asymptomatic Bacteriuria in Iranian Pregnant Women: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(6), pages 1-10, June.
    19. Elizabeth T Cafiero-Fonseca & Andrew Stawasz & Sydney T Johnson & Reiko Sato & David E Bloom, 2017. "The full benefits of adult pneumococcal vaccination: A systematic review," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(10), pages 1-23, October.
    20. Santos Urbina & Sofía Villatoro & Jesús Salinas, 2021. "Self-Regulated Learning and Technology-Enhanced Learning Environments in Higher Education: A Scoping Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-12, June.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:sagope:v:13:y:2023:i:4:p:21582440231215123. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.