Former NSW minister Victor Dominello has spoken about the critical need for a strong data culture in government at the inaugural Aristotle Executive Breakfast that took place on July 31, at the Fullerton Hotel in Sydney.
The event, which focused on enhancing data management across New South Wales, brought together key figures in the state's data landscape.
"It's a culture change. We've got to invest more in data, more in digital solutions to have any chance of maintaining or improving our quality of life for thousands of generations," Dominello said at the breakfast, to mark the importance of investing in data and digital solutions.
The NSW Government, in collaboration with Aristotle Metadata, is spearheading an end-to-end platform to foster a collaborative data culture.
The Metadata.NSW initiative, backed by the Department of Customer Services, aims to enhance data documentation, governance, and discovery.
These efforts have resulted in a cross-departmental data inventory that supports a culture of discovery and sharing, leading to improved outcomes for NSW citizens.
Notable improvements include faster service delivery, enhanced policy effectiveness, and a more informed public.
Data from the NSW Productivity and Equality Commission revealed that New South Wales is the only jurisdiction making progress in closing the gap initiatives for Indigenous Australians.
This is partly due to researchers having faster access to better quality data through metadata.NSW and the NSW data passport.
"I promised myself at that point, I would absolutely go mental on anything if I saw a paper process. I would have a war on it," Dominello said, reflecting on his time in office.
"Because, I wanted real-time information. So that we could make informed decisions to stop suffering, or to reduce suffering as much as we could," he added.
The event underscored the transformative potential of a collaborative data culture and the importance of decentralising data governance.
By empowering teams to share and manage their data effectively, NSW is setting a new standard for data-driven governance and improved public outcomes.
"The data made today could be the answer to an urgent ministerial request or the most valuable insights to revolutionise your department – and you might never know it exists," Aristotle Metadata chief executive and founder Samuel Spencer said.
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