Public Organizations and Data Analysis : Impact on the Role of Public Administrators

In recent years, and due to a myriad of factors, public sector organizations have been asked to do more with less. Budget shortfalls have forced local and state agencies to reduce support staff and increase workloads. A reduction in support staff and decreased revenue has in many ways altered the nature of public service relative to trained public administrators. Public organizations rely heavily on accurate data to make timely decisions regarding budgets, public policy, program implementation and general organization priorities. In order to accomplish these objectives, public administrators must quickly collect, analyze and interpret data. While data management has always been a critical function of most public sector organizations, the demand placed on public organizations by policy makers and the public to quickly analyze and disseminate information has changed the nature of public sector employment. Public administrators, at a minimum, are trained in budgeting, personnel management and organizational theory; it is possible that the changes taking place with regards to the increased demand for data analysis, interpretation and timely information dissemination may be the catalysts for major changes in the roles played by trained public administrators in public organizations. Instead of using the skills acquired through formal training to manage people and making critical organization decisions, public administrators are being asked to simply collect, validate analyze and interpret data for institution wide decision making. The primary objective of this paper is to determine the extent to which demands for data analysis activities is impacting the role trained public administrators play in contemporary public sector organizations