Dare to Share: Overcoming barriers to cross-government collaboration

Are the biggest barriers to effective data-sharing in government legal, cultural or technological - and how can we address these to drive public sector innovation and better public service delivery?

Government Transformation Magazine, in partnership with Snowflake, gathered ten senior civil servants for a Chatham House roundtable to discuss strategies for enhancing intergovernmental sharing and open data. 

The absence of a unified framework for data sharing limits departments’ ability to leverage cross-government insights. This disjointed approach has tangible consequences for citizens with service delivery often becoming fragmented and ineffective.

Citizen IDs provide a secure means of identifying individuals across departmental boundaries. Without such identifiers, data remains siloed, perpetuating inefficiencies in service delivery. 

As one attendee noted, “the current system is ‘department first, citizen second.’” Unique identifiers would help prioritise the citizen experience, allowing for seamless interactions across government services.

Denmark’s e-portal system was cited as an example of best practice. 

“We don’t give citizens a lot of autonomy on their data,” observed one guest. “Denmark’s system is a compelling case study where, on the front-end, citizens can access data in a centralised place, while their unique identifier enables their data to be accurately joined up on the back-end.” 

This approach empowers citizens to access their services with ease while enabling robust data integration behind the scenes, which can be used for advanced analytics and cross-government insight. 

However, as it stands in the UK, creating a single point of entry requires significant reform of back-end processes and infrastructure. 

“We need strong political will and commitment from senior civil leadership to overhaul legacy data and technology architecture,” emphasised another attendee. 

Such reform is essential to enable seamless data sharing across departments and unlock the potential of citizen-centric services.

While technology-first approaches are often viewed with scepticism, bold digital initiatives have the power to reshape organisational norms and foster cultural shifts that extend beyond departmental boundaries.

One such example is the adoption of electronic health records via cloud technology. “Electronic health records were about moving to the cloud,” said a civil servant, explaining how this transition not only improved accessibility within the country’s health bodies but also spearheaded a broader, cross-government, cloud-first digital culture. Though initially disruptive, this shift ultimately set new operational standards across the public sector.

When it comes to creating a data-sharing culture, establishing interdepartmental KPIs, enhancing collaboration between data and technical teams and sharing the manner of linking data, as well as the data itself, were all highlighted as helpful tactics for for enabling interdepartmental collaboration to thrive. 

“Data engineering teams and technical people often report to different directors, and that lack of cohesion creates strategies headed in different directions,” highlighted one guest.  

Misaligned priorities can hinder progress, particularly when compounded by misunderstandings about the role of data in organisational strategy, a reflection that can be exemplified by terminology gaps, such as referring to “customer data” with the more generic term, “data,” revealing limited literacy about the data’s broader function and provenance.

The Civil Service’s reliance on generalists further complicates matters. While generalists are rewarded for their ability to address a broad array of challenges, their lack of specialist competencies can reinforce a risk-averse culture and stagnation. 

“Organisations don’t want to assume the risks that come with data sharing. However, modern platforms with built-in compliance mechanisms offer a way forward, allowing governments to own their data assets while promoting intergovernmental sharing,” highlighted another participant. 

Ultimately, cultural change requires breaking down silos, prioritising citizen-centric services, and aligning leadership on the need for integrated, transparent operations. By combining technology with political will and clear success metrics, governments can rebuild trust, improve public services, and create a more collaborative public sector.