Public Administration, reimagined: The promise of government analytics

As I reflect on my recent completion of the World Bank’s Government Analytics course, I’m struck by the immense potential these tools hold for revolutionising governance in India. Today, while data-driven decision-making has improved productivity in the private sector, many governments still have a wealth of data but struggle to turn it into valuable insights. This gap presents both challenges and new opportunities for those working in public administration.

The promise of government analytics in modern governance

The digital transformation of government operations has accelerated dramatically in recent years. Financial management, procurement, taxation, and service delivery have increasingly moved online, generating vast repositories of administrative data. Yet, as the World Bank’s Government Analytics Handbook highlights, this data often remains trapped in silos, used primarily for record-keeping rather than informing strategic decisions[1]. The result is a missed opportunity to enhance expenditure effectiveness, improve service delivery, and ultimately increase public trust in government.

From my experience in government, I see significant potential in the administrative data collected daily covering school attendance, teacher deployment, infrastructure, and student outcomes.

While this information has often been used mainly for record-keeping, it now presents a valuable opportunity to uncover patterns, address bottlenecks, and identify areas for improvement. A key initiative in this direction is the Vidya Samiksha Kendra (VSK), established by the Government of India at both national and state/UT levels. VSK serves as a centralised hub that aggregates and analyses educational data from millions of schools, teachers, and students across the country, integrating sources like UDISE+, student and teacher databases, and learning outcome assessments.

Using advanced analytics, machine learning, and real-time dashboards, VSK enables administrators to monitor crucial indicators such as student attendance, enrollment, learning progress, and teacher effectiveness. This empowers education officials to make timely, data-driven decisions, for example, identifying students at risk of dropping out or rationalising teacher deployment to address shortages in single-teacher or under-resourced schools.

By breaking down data silos and providing actionable insights, VSK strengthens accountability, improves resource allocation, and supports the overall goal of enhancing learning outcomes nationwide. 

Key insights from the government analytics handbook and fellowship

The Government Analytics Handbook serves as a comprehensive guide to leveraging data for strengthening public administration. What distinguishes this resource is its practical approach to transforming existing administrative data into actionable insights. The Handbook emphasises that governments don’t necessarily need to collect new data – instead, they can gain tremendous value by repurposing the information they already possess.

During the Government Analytics course, I was particularly impressed by the case studies demonstrating concrete results. For instance, Chile’s Ministry of Health saved hundreds of millions of dollars by using administrative data to reduce missed medical appointments among patients with chronic conditions. Similarly, Guatemala’s Ministry of Education reduced the dropout rate for students entering lower secondary school by 9% through data-driven identification of at-risk students.

Practical applications in Public Administration

For India, government analytics presents transformative possibilities. According to the McKinsey Global Institute, data-driven organisations are 23 times more likely to acquire customers, six times more likely to retain customers, and 19 times more likely to be profitable.  These principles apply equally to government operations, where improved analytics can enhance service delivery and policy outcomes.

The Government Analytics Handbook outlines several foundational elements that are particularly relevant for Indian public administration:

1. Repurposing administrative data: Rather than creating new data collection systems, we can extract valuable insights from existing financial management systems, HR databases, and service delivery records.
2. Measuring what matters: The Handbook emphasises the importance of a balanced data suite that prioritises problem-solving and learning, not just compliance.
3. Ethical considerations: Government analytics must respect privacy concerns and moral boundaries, especially when analysing data related to public servants or vulnerable populations.
4. Implementation focus: Analytics should inform action, not simply produce reports. The goal is to enhance decision-making and drive measurable improvements in government performance.Applying government analytics to school education sector research in India

   My immediate interest lies in applying government analytics principles to research on setting up school complex in India as envisioned in National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. The policy marks a significant shift in India’s approach to school organisation by advocating for the creation of school complexes rather than traditional school consolidation or closure. While school closure permanently shuts down institutions and consolidation merges multiple schools, often leading to community disruption, the school complex model is fundamentally different. It groups nearby schools, including Anganwadis and all levels from pre-primary to secondary, into a collaborative unit that shares resources, staff, and infrastructure, while allowing each school to retain its identity and location. This approach is designed to address the chronic challenges of small, under-resourced schools, such as the prevalence of single-teacher institutions and zero-enrolment schools, without sacrificing access or local engagement.

   According to the latest Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) data, India is home to 1,10,971 single-teacher schools, showcasing the dedication of educators in reaching even the most remote areas. Additionally, 12,964 schools, despite currently having zero enrolment, employ over 31,000 teachers, reflecting the nation’s commitment to providing educational infrastructure. More than half of all schools (56.7%) cater to fewer than 100 students, and nearly 68,000 schools serve fewer than 10 students, emphasising the potential for personalised learning experiences. These figures illuminate immense opportunities to further enhance education accessibility and optimise resources for a brighter future. With targeted initiatives and innovative models like school complexes, there is great potential to optimise resources, enhance collaboration, and ensure that every child has access to quality education. This data provides a strong foundation for designing solutions that can strengthen the education system and better serve students and teachers across the country. The school complex model, as outlined in NEP 2020, directly addresses these issues by enabling the pooling of teachers-ensuring subject-specific instruction and reducing the burden on single teachers-and by optimising the use of infrastructure such as libraries, laboratories, and sports facilities across the complex. This not only helps in achieving economies of scale but also ensures equitable access to quality resources for all students, regardless of the size or location of their school.Moreover, school complexes are envisioned as decentralised, semi-autonomous units with their management committees, fostering innovation, local governance, and community participation. This structure enhances administrative efficiency and allows for tailored interventions that reflect local needs and contexts. By focusing on collaboration and resource sharing rather than closure or consolidation, the school complex model supports both efficiency and equity, aligning with NEP’s vision of universal access to quality education and robust, inclusive governance. 

   Looking forward: Building a government analytics ecosystem in India

   With the advent of artificial intelligence, the landscape of government analytics is poised to evolve even further. AI-powered tools can uncover deeper insights from vast datasets, enable predictive modelling at scale, and support more personalised, real-time decision-making in public administration. As we enter this new era, policymakers and administrators need to build their capacity to harness AI responsibly and effectively. Looking ahead, future iterations of the government analytics course could incorporate modules and success stories on the integration of AI in public sector analytics, ensuring that India’s public administration remains at the forefront of innovation and positive change.

   Government analytics represents not just a set of technical tools, but a transformative approach to governance-one that leverages our existing data resources to create more effective, efficient, and responsive public administration. As Francis Fukuyama noted about the Government Analytics Handbook, this approach offers “granular and real insights into how states work”. For India’s education sector and beyond, these insights could be the key to unlocking our next wave of governance innovation.

References

1. https://blogs.worldbank.org/en/developmenttalk/introducing-government-analytics-handbook-comprehensive-guide-transforming-public 
2. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/entities/publication/7c752387-ddf0-4279-8f2a-a19377a9489e 
3. https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/government-analytics  
4. https://www.weforum.org/stories/2025/03/latin-america-caribbean-data-government-transform/  
5. https://opportunitiesforyouth.org/2024/12/04/world-bank-government-analytics-fellowship-program-empowering-data-driven-governancefully-funded/ 
6. https://www.numberanalytics.com/blog/policy-success-government-analytics-innovations 
7. https://blogs.worldbank.org/en/governance/government-productivity-revolution-requires-government-analytics-revolution-introducing  
8. http://www.homepages.ucl.ac.uk/~uctpimr/research/9781464819575.pdf 
9. https://www.sipotra.it/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/GOVERNMENT-ANALYTICS-IN-EUROPE.pdf 
10. https://voxdev.org/topic/public-economics/how-government-analytics-can-improve-public-sector-implementation 
11. https://cprindia.org/school-consolidation-catalyst-for-change-or-an/   
12. https://vedantbatra.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/School-Consolidation-in-Karnataka.pdf

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