🎯 Theme: Building data-driven municipalities through systematic assessment
This page outlines a comprehensive municipal data maturity assessment framework with a detailed survey to evaluate cities’ data governance, capacity, decision-making practices, and transparency across four key dimensions.
Introduction
A maturity assessment provides a generalised understanding of the city’s current data capabilities and sets a baseline to track progress over time. By identifying strengths and
weaknesses, the city can prioritise its efforts and allocate resources effectively.
The city should be embracing descriptive, diagnostic, predictive and prescriptive analytics in its data work. However this should less be seen as a progression, but rather something that each unit, department or agency is deploying all of the above to solve city problems, based on
an iterative process. The city should conduct a data maturity assessment every 18 months, and through that begin to work at all levels of analysis based on problem fit and city capability readiness. The initial baseline survey will help assist the city to understand where it is, in terms of its maturity and help define areas of improvement.
There are several global examples of data maturity measurement, such as models designed by Think Digital and Harvard Kennedy School. Considering such models, data and digital maturity, as we understand it, should unpack the following issues:
- data and digital governance,
- data and digital capacity,
- the use of data in decision-making,
- openness and transparency.
A maturity assessment to use
Below is an example of a data and digital maturity survey that you can replicate and conduct in your city:
Municipal Data Governance Survey
Date: _______
Section 1: Background Information
1.1 Which data product are you working on in the City?
1.2 Which unit or department do you belong to?
1.3 What is your role in your unit or department?
Section 2: Data Policy and Strategy
2.1 In thinking about the municipality’s data policy or strategy, please choose the most accurate description:
☐ We have a comprehensive data policy/strategy that is well-implemented ☐ We have a data policy/strategy but implementation is limited ☐ We have a basic data policy/strategy ☐ We are developing a data policy/strategy ☐ We do not have a data policy/strategy ☐ I am not sure
2.2 Do you agree or disagree with the following statements:
There are appropriate governance structures that guide how data is collected, managed, shared, and used in my department (e.g., data/digital committees, stewards, or point persons).
☐ Strongly Agree ☐ Agree ☐ Neither Agree nor Disagree ☐ Disagree ☐ Strongly Disagree
Data sharing within, and between, departments is governed by standardised policies and procedures.
☐ Strongly Agree ☐ Agree ☐ Neither Agree nor Disagree ☐ Disagree ☐ Strongly Disagree
2.3 Do you agree or disagree with the following statements:
Existing data and digital security procedures and systems in the department ensure data is secure.
☐ Strongly Agree ☐ Agree ☐ Neither Agree nor Disagree ☐ Disagree ☐ Strongly Disagree
There are effective measures in place that protect the personal information of residents and other users.
☐ Strongly Agree ☐ Agree ☐ Neither Agree nor Disagree ☐ Disagree ☐ Strongly Disagree
2.4 Is there any additional information you would like to provide with regards to data and digital governance in your unit/department/city?
Section 3: Staff Skills and Capacity
3.1 Do you agree or disagree with the following statements around staff skills and capacity:
Data collection: Staff in the department have the necessary skills and capacity to collect appropriate data.
☐ Strongly Agree ☐ Agree ☐ Neither Agree nor Disagree ☐ Disagree ☐ Strongly Disagree
Data management: Staff in the department have the necessary skills and capacity to access, manage, and store departmental data.
☐ Strongly Agree ☐ Agree ☐ Neither Agree nor Disagree ☐ Disagree ☐ Strongly Disagree
3.2 Do you agree or disagree with the following statements around staff skills and capacity:
Data analysis: Staff in the department have the necessary skills and capacity to analyse departmental data.
☐ Strongly Agree ☐ Agree ☐ Neither Agree nor Disagree ☐ Disagree ☐ Strongly Disagree
Data usage: Staff in the department have the necessary skills and capacity to use data for decision-making.
☐ Strongly Agree ☐ Agree ☐ Neither Agree nor Disagree ☐ Disagree ☐ Strongly Disagree
3.3 Do you agree or disagree with the following statements:
There are data and digital trainings and opportunities available to staff in my department.
☐ Strongly Agree ☐ Agree ☐ Neither Agree nor Disagree ☐ Disagree ☐ Strongly Disagree
There are enough staff members in my department to address our data-related needs.
☐ Strongly Agree ☐ Agree ☐ Neither Agree nor Disagree ☐ Disagree ☐ Strongly Disagree
Staff have access to data and digital tools and technology that serve the department’s data and digital needs.
☐ Strongly Agree ☐ Agree ☐ Neither Agree nor Disagree ☐ Disagree ☐ Strongly Disagree
3.4 Is there any additional information you would like to provide with regards to data and digital capacity in your unit/department/city?
Section 4: Evidence-Based Decision Making
4.1 In your view, how important is data and evidence in the decision-making process?
☐ Extremely Important ☐ Very Important ☐ Moderately Important ☐ Slightly Important ☐ Not Important
4.2 In your view, how important do decision-makers view data and evidence when decisions are being made?
☐ Extremely Important ☐ Very Important ☐ Moderately Important ☐ Slightly Important ☐ Not Important
4.3 Do you agree or disagree with the following statements:
Existing data/digital tools generate appropriate evidence and data to inform decision-making.
☐ Strongly Agree ☐ Agree ☐ Neither Agree nor Disagree ☐ Disagree ☐ Strongly Disagree
Decision-makers use the evidence and data generated by my department to guide decision-making.
☐ Strongly Agree ☐ Agree ☐ Neither Agree nor Disagree ☐ Disagree ☐ Strongly Disagree
4.4 How easy or difficult do you find the following:
The process of sharing data within the department.
☐ Very Easy ☐ Easy ☐ Neither Easy nor Difficult ☐ Difficult ☐ Very Difficult
The process of sharing data between departments.
☐ Very Easy ☐ Easy ☐ Neither Easy nor Difficult ☐ Difficult ☐ Very Difficult
4.5 Is there any additional information you would like to provide with regards to evidence-based decision-making in your unit/department/city?
Section 5: Open and Inclusive Environment
5.1 Do you agree or disagree with the following statements:
There is a strong culture of data transparency and openness in the department.
☐ Strongly Agree ☐ Agree ☐ Neither Agree nor Disagree ☐ Disagree ☐ Strongly Disagree
Appropriate datasets, reports, and data stories are made available to the public.
☐ Strongly Agree ☐ Agree ☐ Neither Agree nor Disagree ☐ Disagree ☐ Strongly Disagree
There are mechanisms in place that allow for the public to provide feedback about public-facing datasets, reports, and data stories.
☐ Strongly Agree ☐ Agree ☐ Neither Agree nor Disagree ☐ Disagree ☐ Strongly Disagree
5.2 When programmes, services, or tools are designed and developed, how often are the following done:
Potential users are engaged to better inform design and development
☐ Always ☐ Often ☐ Sometimes ☐ Rarely ☐ Never
Issues around gender and social inclusion are considered
☐ Always ☐ Often ☐ Sometimes ☐ Rarely ☐ Never
Iterative and agile approaches are used
☐ Always ☐ Often ☐ Sometimes ☐ Rarely ☐ Never
5.3 Is there any additional information you would like to provide with regards to open and inclusive environment in your unit/department/city?
Contact Information (Optional)
Name: _________________
Email Address: _____________
Thank you for completing this survey. Your responses will help improve data governance and capacity in municipal departments.
When creating the survey, you can think about the below questions:
- In thinking about the municipality’s data policy or strategy, please choose the most accurate description:
- There is no clear data policy or strategy that guides the city’s work with regards to how data is collected, stored, managed, shared and used.
- There is a clear data policy or strategy for the city’s work. However, it is implemented on an ad hoc basis (not consistently) with regards to how data is collected, stored, managed, shared, and used.
- The city has a clear policy or strategy with staff increasingly referring to it for guidance on how data is collected, stored, managed, shared, and used.
- The city has a clear policy/strategy with staff increasingly referring to it for guidance on how data is collected, stored, managed, shared, and used. This is done in a way that ensures high inclusivity, openness and collaborative innovation in planning and policy-making processes.
- Other
- Do you agree/disagree with the following statements:
- There are appropriate governance structures that guide how data is collected, managed, shared, and used in my department e.g., data/digital committees, stewards, or point persons.
- Data sharing within, and between, departments is governed by standardised policies and procedures.
- Existing data and digital security procedures and systems in the department ensure data is secure.
- There are effective measures in place that protect the personal information of residents and other users.
- Is there any additional information you would like to provide with regards to data and digital governance in your unit/department/city?
Limitations
While data maturity assessments are useful, it is important to note that they have their own gaps. When reading the results from a data maturity assessment report, some important limitations need to be highlighted and acknowledged. Firstly, the maturity index consists of subjective responses to posed questions and, therefore, relies on how the respondents perceive and interpret these questions. While we feel the questions are valid and reliable, there are likely to be fluctuations in responses based on self-perception, belief and behaviour systems of respondents.
This is a flaw in the design and must be kept in mind when comparisons are made between different use cases. A further limitation concerns the number of responses received for each use case and from each department. Overall, the sample sizes for each use case or from each department can be small, meaning that results and conclusions that are drawn from these findings are based on a small sample. Lastly, we recommend caution with using maturity assessments as they can hinder organisations if implemented incorrectly because they create a rigid step-based process that has to be fulfilled in order to progress. Rather, an agile-based approach is required that implements the suggestions iteratively.