Information Systems and Technology in the Public Sector
The public sector is poised to use information in ways that it has never before. Without grounding in how information is and can be used, policy analysts will be unable to take advantage of the unprecedented size and number of data sources increasingly being made available by federal, state and local governments, as well as the private sector.
In contrast to a purely technical course of information systems or technology, the focus of this class on: 1) how data and information from government information systems can be used in the making and implementation of policy and the management of public and non-profit organizations, and 2) how public policy is reflected in the use of technology. “Bigdata” is defined and what it means for public policy is discussed.
Professionals from government and non-profit organizations, as well as technology firms, give students direct experience with current issues in the field. Connecting the knowledge from the field with the relevant theory is a major goal of the course.
Over the past 40 years, information technology has increasingly become a standard feature of organizations and networks of organizations implementing public policy. Such organizations range from those responsible for transportation and environmental protection through education, health care and anti-poverty programs and may be private or government agencies. Understanding information system purposes, development and use is important for understanding how public policy is implemented and assessed in the United States.
Information policy, at its broadest level, refers to the set of all laws, regulations, and policies that promote, impede or regulate the creation, use, storage and communication of information. The creation and development of information systems reflect the general mission, priorities and cultures of organizations implementing public policy. In other words, the information policy of a particular organization in many cases is directly determined by the public policy that is to be implemented and the methods used to implement that policy in addition to issues of costs and politics.
Information systems support the daily operations and strategic planning of these organizations responsible for implementing public policy and the data from those systems can be used for research and analysis that inform evaluation, program development and policymaking at the individual organization level through the national level. The use of the data in the information system can support decision-making at the case level or at the organization or regional level. The set of terms that include data “warehouses” and data “marts” refer to the more efficient utilization of the data from the operational information systems.
Questions that will be addressed in the course include:
What is the relationship between Federal policy, state authority and information policy and systems?
How does privacy and data security legislation affect the use of information in public policy activities?
How do organizations keep their information systems up to date in an environment of quickly changing policies?
How does the use of information systems and the data from them contribute to the overall functioning of the organization or field?
How do different types of organizations in different types of fields monitor themselves using information systems?
What is the future of information systems in government agencies?
