S. Keith Lane – Senior Budget Analyst, Durham County

GovernmentMattie Sue Stevens – ICMA Fellow

The Future of Budget

Technology = Data AnalyticsThe Next Great

Leap

Old Budget Technology•Collect numbers•Collect short reasoning for numbers•Make it balance•Sprinkle in some measures•Produce a document•Rinse and repeat

The Next Great Leap• Has already happened in business• Credit Card companies• Loyalty Card tracking• Internet• Everywhere else

• Not usually happening in local government• Systems not in place to “naturally” collect

data• Lack of resources (people, time)• Lack of understanding about benefits of deep

data collection and mining

Why The Leap Must Happen•Complexity: Local governments know very little about you,

yet spend tremendous resources to fix your complicated, multifaceted problems – without multi-faceted data!• Decisions have to become more complex as the data presents

complicated interactions -- you know, like life.

•$$$: Dollars are perpetually scarce, necessitating best use (based on deeper understanding of environment)

•Opportunity: Infrastructure starting to fall in place to capture data

New Budget Technology

•Budget Analyst will be a Data Analyst (with all the statistical and analytical skills implied)•Deep data collection•Data mining• Explore Correlation• Find causation

•Predictive estimates•Budget development follows

Where We StartWhat do you already have?•People: analysts, interns, students • Software: your existing budget system,

Excel•Data sources: State, NCACC/League of

Municipalities, SOG, your departments…

It’s NOT about a new software system.It’s about your curiosity.

For Instance…•NCACC gathers and

reports data from annual budget survey

•Can we compare with...• Sales tax data?• Heath outcomes?• Employment

figures?

For Instance…

Newspaper uses visual techniques to explain granular budget data

Why can’t we follow their example?

Taking the Leap•How can you combine

existing data in new ways?

•How can you gather new data simply or automatically?

•How can you tell stories with data?

S. Keith Lane – Senior Budget Analyst, Durham County

GovernmentMattie Sue Stevens – ICMA Fellow

The Future of Budget

Technology = Data AnalyticsThe Next Great

Leap