Round table "Development of Data-Centric Management in Russia"
The International Laboratory for Digital Transformation in Public Administration of the Higher School of Economics held a round table "Development of Data-Centric Management in Russia". Within the framework of the event, reports were presented designed to reflect views on data-centric public administration from the academic environment, the public sector and business. In addition, the presentation of the collective monograph of the International Laboratory "Data–centric public administration: concept, risks, barriers" took place.
The round table was moderated by Sergey Cheremisin, Executive Director of the Center for Excellence in Data and Analytics. In his opening remarks, he stressed the relevance of the topic of data-centric public administration, pointing out that this approach to management is not only becoming the subject of scientific discussions, but is also beginning to be more actively introduced into the practice of public administration in the Russian Federation.
Evgeny Styrin, Head of the International Laboratory, presented the report "Data-centric Public Administration: concept, risks, barriers", dedicated to the monograph of the same name and other results and conclusions of the International Laboratory's research in this area. He described the observed trends in the development and increasing relevance of the concept of data-centric management and in the introduction of data technologies in Russia, as well as the place of the data-centric model among approaches to public administration.
At the same time, the implementation of data-driven management may face a wide range of risks and challenges, among which digital trust stands out as a separate issue. Having described international and domestic experiences and prospects for forming strategies and implementing data-driven mechanisms, Evgeny Styrin identified current problems, such as the imperfection of regulatory frameworks, lack of qualified personnel, cybersecurity risks, and low data quality. Finally, he provided recommendations for developing a data-driven model of public administration, including descriptions of the conditions and criteria for implementation, as well as areas of activity for solving existing problems and increasing digital trust.
The second report, "Digital Transformation of Tax Administration: From Process Mining to Artificial Intelligence", was presented by Alexander Lyalikov, Deputy Head of the Department of Organizational Development and User Experience at the Federal Tax Service of Russia. In his presentation, he described the extent to which the service collects and utilizes data for tax administration and provision of social and economic statistics. Noting the gradual shift of the Federal Tax Service towards a human-centric approach, the speaker discussed various data management projects that have been implemented, including the VPD Data Delivery Platform, services for registering self-employed individuals, an automated simplified taxation system, the Governor's Dashboard, the Unified State Registry of Offices, and the Unified Population Register.
Alexander Lyalikov described the use of data-based tools to solve problems of inefficient labor organization, document management, intra- and interdepartmental interaction and interaction with citizens. Process mining allows the Federal Tax Service to optimize workflows by analyzing their digital footprint. Artificial intelligence technologies are used to effectively analyze the collected data and provide electronic services, including the analysis of receipts of cash registers, registration of individual entrepreneurs and legal entities, and registration of the "self-employed". In conclusion, the speaker emphasized the desire of the Federal Tax Service to improve the user experience and take into account feedback.
The final presentation was the report "Approaches to building a technological infrastructure for data management" by Viktor Urusov, CEO of the Skala r technology company. He called one of the main challenges for the industry the exponential complexity of the topology of data management systems caused by the growth of data volumes and the interconnectedness of systems. However, modern integrated solutions, originally developed by foreign technology companies, have now become widely available. The successful transfer of technologies and methodologies has allowed the domestic public sector to achieve a leading position in the world in implementing data-based management, and the largest Russian companies are developing analogues of foreign data management technologies.
The speaker called the lack of trust in data one of the main threats to the development of data-based management. To improve it, it is necessary to ensure information security, technological independence at the international level, and functional stability of systems. In addition, a significant problem is the increasing complexity of managing data management systems, which is caused by both an increase in data volumes and the complexity of their analysis techniques (especially the introduction of AI). Data-based management is becoming less transparent, which harms digital trust and can lead to incorrect decisions. Therefore, information systems control and management systems are being created to monitor the correctness of their work. However, Viktor Urusov stressed that cooperation between developers and the academic environment is necessary to further solve this problem.
The speakers answered questions from the moderator and the audience, touching, in particular: key factors in the development of data-centric public administration. Among these are: the digital trust of the population and the competence of civil servants, the specifics of the implementation of data-centric management at the regional level, the use and protection of personal data of citizens. In closing, Evgeny Styrin thanked all the speakers and participants, and noted that, despite considering data-centric management from different positions, the speakers agreed on many opinions and conclusions, which can serve as a basis for further cooperation and exchange of experience.