Public sector agencies have always faced big questions. And as they regularly look at their private sector counterparts, they wonder, “Why can’t we move as fast as them? Why can’t my agency also benefit from big data, AI, and now, Generative AI”. A major challenge has always been being confident that you have the right questions and knowing how you’re going to answer them with data and analytics.
It’s not just about buying a new piece software but also figuring out how to use it for what you want to do. To do so, a proper prototype or proof of concept is needed to get buy-in and to learn what else is needed to ensure adoption. And that’s where many efforts to innovate fail before they even start – PoCs need money and commitment, that’s not always available quickly. And by the time the approvals are in, everyone has moved on to something else.
And that low-cost need for speed is just where hackathons can help. In recent SAS Hackathons, hundreds of teams decided to focus on how data can be managed, visualized and used in analytics / AI models to address a range of interesting public sector questions, ranging from how to engage citizens through to flood prediction.
And this year, with GenAI co-pilots, synthetic data generation and a new open-source friendly environment, it has me wondering – what are we going to see at the 2024 SAS Hackathon?
A wide range of use cases
There are many possible use cases for analytics in government and public services. In the last few years, hackathon teams have explored use cases such as:
- Helping agencies keep abreast of rapidly changing information, such as changing legislation, regulations or online chatter. For example, one team last year monitored social media posts to check for harmful content relating to ‘body hate’, as a way to improve user safety. It might not sound directly relevant to you, but I’ll bet you know an agency that is trying to find out what’s the next big thing in technology, or understand better what their citizens are thinking, or discover a new extremist cell.
- Improving service delivery. One previous hackathon team from a homelessness support organisation in Canada, wanted to better understand the needs of the users of their support services and to better meet their needs. They did this by exploring the factors associated with moving from in-crisis housing to a more stable situation. Other SAS Hackathon participants have also looked at air quality instruments to help citizens make better travel decisions .
- Planning for and alerting for disasters. Other teams have used analytics to support disaster planning and management. For example, knowing where floods were most likely to occur to enable timely evacuation of affected areas, and therefore prevent injuries or deaths. A team from Jakarta last year used real-time data on river levels to predict the location of potential floods in the next few hours.
- Reacting well in emerging situations. In last year’s hackathon, a team from Turkey looked at monitoring social media using text analytics to help prioritise support services following earthquakes. Another team looked at the use of satellite images to identify building damage after an earthquake. In another example, a team from 2022 built a model to help them predict and optimise coastguard rescue services. Another looked at how it might be possible to optimise police resource allocation. Still another looked at the adequacy of fire hydrant provision.
What will you choose to hack?
Oh, why don’t we call this what it is – a call to action. You could keep coming up with great ideas to improve your agency’s work. But they might never become reality. How many opportunities a year will you have to test that idea in a way that translates to the realities of public sector agencies?
If what you’ve read so far whets your appetite to see how data and analytics can change your organisation’s approach or services, join the #SASHackathon 2024. Prove that your pet analytics project will work without jumping through too many hoops. Bring your ideas and knowledge (and maybe your data), and SAS will bring industry-leading software and experts to help you on your way.
