In recent years, we have seen the increased use of basic data analytics and how they revolutionize and revitalize not only businesses but also the public sector. They have played a vital, transformational role in improving the quality of public-sector decision- and policy making, strengthening political accountability, and delivering reforms in terms of advancing public services, monitoring budgets, and cutting waste, among other ways to enhance efficiency and effectiveness. Governmental organizations can now operate in a more data-driven, information-led manner, which was not possible previously. At the same time, this development also involves challenges since the responsible, secure use of public data must be ensured.

Aligned with the transformation initiative of the APO, this course will introduce the background to why data analytics are important in public-sector organizations by examining key concepts and trends of the big data environment and their applicability. As a capacity-building effort, this course will show how public-sector organizations can apply data analytics, process the results, and make data-based decisions for better performance and increased productivity. 

The course will cover the following modules:

Module 1: Purpose and use of data analytics in the public sector
Module 2: Fundamentals of data analytics in the public sector: sampling and measurement
Module 3: Analysis and visualization of data I: descriptive statistics
Quiz 1
Module 4: Analysis and visualization of data II: probability distributions
Module 5: Analysis and visualization of data III: linear regression and correlation
Quiz 2
Module 6: Application of data analytics to the public sector problem solving_final_revision
Final examination

Important Notes:

A minimum score of 70% on the final examination is required to qualify for the APO e-certificate.