The third ‘Digital Next Leadership Series’ concluded recently with a discussion on the future of data and its pivotal role in digital economy and the development of government ecosystems.

More than 575 participants from around the world joined the virtual session. The high-level attendees included company representatives, digital solution providers, and the media.

Hosted by the Department of Government Support, represented by the Abu Dhabi Digital Authority (ADDA), the session titled ‘The Future of Data: How Can Governments Create Data-Driven Ecosystems?’ was organised by Messe Frankfurt Middle East.

The panel discussion hosted Dr. Mohamed Abdulhameed Al Askar, Director General, ADDA; Kristian Møller, Director General, Agency for Data Supply and Efficiency, Denmark; Dr. Monsak Socharoentum, Vice President of Data Solutions, Digital Government Development Agency (DGA), Thailand; Dan Hu, CEO, G42 Cloud, and John Sheridan, Digital Director, National Archives, United Kingdom.

The attendees looked into the latest trends, case studies, regulations, and policies that would enable and support the development of data-driven ecosystems. The panel speakers and experts reiterated data’s pivotal role in building future economies.  During the online session, Al Askar made an introductory presentation on ‘Data Value Realization in Government

He talked about the reality and future of data, the importance of its optimal utilisation, and the existing challenges in this field. He cited the experiences of Abu Dhabi, Denmark, Thailand and the UK.

He said: “Today’s successful session served as a platform for us to tackle the most relevant data-related topics. We looked into the best ways to benefit from data and utilise it in various vital sectors.”

“Data has become one of the most valuable government assets today. Governments can harness its power to develop the most essential services needed by the people, as well as create key economic plans and programs that meet the needs of the future,” He further stated, “Without a proper strategy and data architectural structure, we cannot realise the true value of data in governance and policy making and use it to maximise operational efficiency.  By utilising it in the right manner as an input, the output will be the desired outcome.”

The panel highlighted that ‘Data next’ is not just about availability and quality of individual data sets or registers. It is about cohesion across data sets to support major transitions in society that cannot effectively be supported by data silos.

The session underlined the importance of data in building the digital economy, stressing that data is currently the core of the general government policy-making process in a number of countries around the world.

The third session was part of the virtual ‘Digital Next Leadership Series’ that will be hosted until December 2021. The series was launched to shed light on key topics under the ‘Data Next’ pillar of the upcoming 2022 Digital Next Summit, which will take place on February 22-23, 2022. The summit, themed ‘Enabling Government of the Future,’ will focus on fostering partnerships between the public and private sectors to deliver government services that meet the rapidly evolving needs of citizens, societies, and businesses.

The session is part of the four-sessions “Digital Next Leadership Series”, which will be hosted until December 2021. It will lead up to the 2022 Digital Next Summit slated to take place on 22nd and 23rd February, 2022, under the theme “Enabling Government of the Future”.

The summit focus was on fostering partnerships between the public and private sectors to deliver government services.

This year, the forum’s objectives were to create a unique platform for ongoing dialogue on enabling the government of the future; explore new ideas by bringing together the public and private sectors to harness the power of digital technologies that are reshaping the future of society, and dive deep into the key pillars of government digital transformation.

Furthermore, the sessions discussed how thought leadership and international perspectives affect various aspects of government services, digital government solutions, data and artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, digital ecosystem and public-private partnerships. The topics were selected based on the Digital Next Summit’s content pillars of Gx Next, Data Next, Government of the future, and Cyber Next.

Abu Dhabi Digital Authority is leading the digital future of Abu Dhabi by supporting our government partners to deliver services and build ecosystems, that enrich quality of life and multiply opportunities for business and personal growth.