Data & AI Strategy in the Public Sector – Extending Citizen Understanding and Ensuring Data Readiness

Public sector institutions, particularly in the MEA region, are under growing pressure to improve the management of social programs—such as financial counseling and citizen activation services. A key challenge is the eligibility assessment process, which depends on multiple factors like location, household size, and income. Current systems lack integration, leading to inefficiencies and delays.

For example, critical financial information is often only accessible after an applicant has already entered the system, causing processing delays and inaccurate decisions. The fragmentation of data across ERP, CRM, and banking systems limits the ability to deliver personalized services and hinders advanced data analysis.

The potential for improvement is significant. With AI ideation, public institutions can integrate these disparate data sources to create a cohesive ecosystem that accelerates eligibility assessments and improves decision accuracy. By implementing new reporting frameworks and advanced analytics, agencies can gain deeper insight into citizen behavior—enhancing the effectiveness of social programs. To address these challenges, one of our co-founders led a structured AI ideation process to develop a solid AI strategy and plan for an ecosystem that personalizes citizen experiences.

Key Components of the Solution:

• Implementation of a Unified Data Ecosystem: integrated predefined sources into a modern data warehouse, consolidating data from ERP, CRM, and banking reports into a single, trusted repository—boosting data quality and enabling process automation.
• AI Use Case Discovery: using the unified ecosystem, we designed AI use cases such as “Family & Members 360 View”, providing a comprehensive overview of citizen engagement in social programs.
• Cloud Data Governance Framework: implemented cloud governance practices ensuring data security, ethical compliance, and reduced redundancy.
• Data Visualization and Reporting Automation: developed intuitive Power BI dashboards to equip public officials with real-time insights. The redesigned reporting system included 15 tailored reports, four of which addressed gaps identified during the ideation phase.
• Process Automation and Optimization: focused on automating tasks such as expense classification and beneficiary management, increasing operational efficiency.

These workshops were foundational to building a sustainable AI transformation. They ensured alignment between data governance, analytics, and organizational goals while adhering to ethical standards.

The Data & AI workshops and resulting strategy had a significant impact—creating a clear, operational roadmap for AI transformation in the public sector. The data ecosystem emerged as a critical asset, enabling smarter data management, deeper analysis, and more effective AI implementation. Results included: 

• Improved data literacy and management skills within the Data & Analytics team 
• A comprehensive Data & AI strategy: including vision, risk map, education plan, and long-term roadmap
• Regulatory alignment: streamlined data governance with full compliance to applicable laws and standards