Posted at Internet Evolution: The Case for Unique BI Criteria for Government Users
Is there such a thing as “Government BI,” a distinct species of business intelligence that responds to special government requirements? If not, should there be? And what could it teach us about BI in general?
A look at systems that use BI and serve as key government tools for public engagement will prove that these questions are far from academic.
Government is a big BI user at all levels, from local to national, and for a range of applications that include performance management and analysis and dissemination of program data.
Government public-safety and social programs, for example, touch everyone, conferring a special need for accurate and timely results and, often, data protection. Mix in government 2.0 notions of participation, collaboration, and transparency — and consider the sheer size, scale, and reach of government operations — and you have requirements that are encountered in the private sector only among the largest international corporations.
Consider as examples of Government BI three public-data systems: the U.S. Census Bureau’s American FactFinder Website; USAspending.gov, a showcase transparency effort; and Gapminder, which provides visualizations of world-development progress. These BI systems are out on the Web so you can try them yourself.
… more at http://www.internetevolution.com/author.asp?section_id=773&doc_id=182503&
Seth, whether it’s BI or MI (Market Intelligence), you may want to look at FedSources, http://www.fedsources.com. The data is more than “just” data, but data that is understandable and can be used by commercial businesses to understand government requirements and programs. My company owns FedSources, so in the spirit of fairness the only other MI firm worth evaluating is INPUT, http://www.input.com.
http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS143027+09-Sep-2009+BW20090909