This article will go through the what, why and how of implementing a Single View of the Citizen for local councils.

What is a Single View of the Citizen?

Local government agencies hold reams of personal data on their citizens. From home addresses to social care requirements, employment, housing, financial information and more, there’s a lot of valuable information floating around.

However, in most instances, the data is not aggregated or connected in one central system. Different agencies, even different departments in the same council, hold fragments of information on each citizen. If this is never joined up, a holistic view of citizens and the communities they make up is impossible.

A Single View of the Citizen is all about solving this challenge. The aim is to have a single central platform containing all relevant information the local government and its service providers need about its citizens.

This not only leads to more accurate and reliable data, but it also allows for the data to be used more effectively, allowing local governments to better manage their resources while still providing high quality service to their communities, even in a climate of ever tightening budgets and increasing service demand.

Benefits of Having a Single View of the Citizen

A Single View of the Citizen can cut costs, increase service user satisfaction, and ensure the taxpayers’ money is being put to the best possible use. Here are the top 5 ways it can benefit local councils. 

1. Efficient resource allocation based on demand

Accurate and up-to-date data can give decisionmakers a holistic view of their community. Demand for each service can be tracked, enabling authorities to accurately assess their priorities plus the needs of citizens in a clear and easily accessible way, while also functioning as a budget tool for cost purposes. Analytics can give a clear view of which services are most in need of resources or funding, and which can afford to continue as they are, enabling decisions to be driven effectively and outcomes improved.

Budget setting can then be based on evidence, ensuring every penny of the taxpayer’s money is well spent on services that will have the most impact on the community.

2. Departments can work together on the same problems

Local authority services are all connected in people’s lives. For example, quality of education could affect levels of unemployment, homelessness, poor health outcomes and even overall life expectancy.

All these factors interplay together so it makes sense for the relevant departments to work together. They can set common goals and share insights with each other, combining in a much more strategic way to maximise their impact.

3. Keep master data for every citizen

Disparate systems lead to inefficiencies that waste the time of council employees and citizens trying to access services. Imagine how much easier it would be if currently disconnected datasets were linked. For example, citizens could simply change their address once after moving house, rather than having to fill in the same forms over and over again to update it for each separate service. 

This would not only increase citizen satisfaction by making the process much easier, but it would also lead to more accurate data through one operational and consolidated platform.

4. Prevent fraud

To prevent fraud, local councils must be able to spot patterns and discrepancies in data. For example, cases of fraud costing £2.7 million were uncovered in Wales simply by comparing council tax single persons discount claims to the electoral register.

Fraud detection and response capabilities can be greatly expanded by using a Single View of the Citizen, in which citizens’ data is all accessible in one place using ethical data sharing between services. Comparisons between the data can easily be made and analysed accurately. 

5. Preventative measures cut future costs

Prevention is always better than the cure. But how can you tell what outcomes you’re supposed to be looking out for to prevent? Predictive analytics can help in proactive targeting before crisis presents. Using sophisticated data science technologies, the people most vulnerable and in need of support, who arguably could also be considered the most resource intensive to local authorities, can be identified earlier. Help can be given before they reach the point of crisis, improving outcomes for them while again reducing overall cost. 

How to Get a Single View of the Citizen

All the data collected by any government agency can be integrated into a modern data platform like Microsoft Azure, then a Single View of the Citizen can be built using this data within the Azure platform. Clear insights can be gleaned even from those who aren’t data experts, by creating Power BI analytics reports, again on the Microsoft platform, which are always kept up to date with near real-time data.

The solution doesn’t have to be a massive one-time cost. Instead of committing to a huge project, local councils can gradually transform their databases, connecting the disconnected over a time to suit budgets, resulting in benefits right away with little investment. This makes the Modern Data Platform a cost-effective, scalable and adaptable solution, fit for the future needs of the council as well as giving a rapid return on investment for the current requirements. 

A Single View of the Citizen must prioritise data security. A reliable Modern Data Platform, which invests heavily in the security and safety of your data, is required. The integration tools and partner used to build the Modern Data Platform must also treat security as paramount.

To find out more about how Kagool can help provide innovative, cost effective and secure solutions to your local authority or the wider public sector, please get in touch.