Are we ready? Emerging-country civil servants’ readiness towards a data-driven public service

Abstract

Emerging countries face limitations in implementing a Data-Driven Public Service (DDPS), one of the most critical enablers of the digital transformation process in the government. Government officers are expected to shift to the new paradigm of public value generation; however, those in emerging countries lack tactical tools to assess the level of perceived readiness to provide a DDPS. Therefore, this study addresses the lack of self-assessment tools to diagnose, in the perspective of public servants, readiness to transition to a data-driven public service. We explored the path of underlying factors (interoperability, operational capacity, IT service infrastructure, data governance, data privacy, and security) and how these may measure the civil servant's perception of the organizations’ readiness to transform its operating model into a DDPS one. The model was preliminarily tested with data collected from 845 public servants in an emerging country (Costa Rica). At the current stage, tests yielded valid and reliable results leading to promising implications concerning the influence of operational capacity, data governance, data security, and privacy to drive readiness towards data-driven public service provision in emerging countries. Preliminary results hint that the model may contribute to a scientific yet practical self-assessment tool for public officers in these countries.