‘From Data Divide to Data Dividend’, the new report published today by WPI Economics, on behalf of Splunk, takes a deep dive into how the governments in the UK, France, Germany and the Netherlands are using data to drive social societal change and close the data divide after decades of missed opportunities.

The results are promising. Governments have made significant efforts to use data more effectively, realising it’s a critical resource, for problem-solving, innovation and public services.

In the UK for example, the research demonstrates how the UK could be a global superpower – rivalling countries such as Singapore – in the use of emerging technologies to solve policy challenges.

The report therefore recommends the Government prioritise updating some of Whitehall’s legacy IT systems to boost data sharing both within and across different agencies to ensure AI and machine learning could be used even more widely to solve socio-economic challenges.

Michelle Donelan MP, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport comments:

“This report shows the incredible strides that have been made so far, but of course we want to go further and faster. We wholeheartedly agree that the UK could and should be a global superpower in this space in the coming years, and we have ambitious plans on data that will allow this to become a reality.”

View Report – Here