Fentanyl, a powerful synthetic drug 50-100 times more potent than morphine, is responsible for an opioid crisis in Canada, leading to nearly 14,000 deaths and over 17,000 hospitalisations since 2016. To understand what societal factors have contributed to the increase in opioid-related overdoses, Statistics Canada (StatsCan) has created a data-sharing partnership with health officials, the justice department and local government agencies.

StatsCan’s data partnerships are just one example of the potential of cross-department data sharing — the approach can be used for anything from simple fixes to government services to tackling public health crises.

But despite the wealth of information governments have at their fingertips, organisational silos can prevent datasets from being shared with a range of departments that may benefit from the information. Creating data sharing agreements through partnerships can help, but maintaining data privacy and protection is paramount throughout the process.

Every department can benefit

StatsCan is a 100-year-old federal department that produces statistics for government, the public, nonprofit organisations and private institutions.

StatsCan works with federal, provincial and municipal departments to gather data and assemble it in an easy to understand manner, providing robust evidence policymakers can use to develop new programs or to take action on problems.

For instance, to provide a holistic picture of the wide range effects of the opioid crisis, StatsCan has gathered data on the extent to which individuals come in contact with the health and justice systems as well as if they required social assistance and their employment status, said Lynn Barr-Telford, assistant chief statistician of social health and labour statistics at StatCan.

“In order for various organisations, social agencies and health agencies to be better placed to determine the type of interventions in the context of the [opioid] crisis they need good data,” said Lynn Barr-Telford.

Having access to a wider-variety of data from within different government departments can provide a more complete overview of what is driving a problem and the key areas where it can be addressed.

Barr-Telford said connecting pieces of data, creating data partnerships and having departments create meaningful data themselves is key to devising successful evidence-based programs and policies.

StatsCan is able to operate under legislation called the Statistics Act – mandating that the agency has the authority to “collect, compile, analyse, abstract and publish information on the economic, social and general conditions of the country and its citizens”

But StatsCan still has to create partnerships to obtain and find the data it needs, which can be difficult.

Creating partnerships

Before facilitating a partnership, Barr-Telford said public servants need to identify the type of information needed and the policy problem that needs to be solved. For example, StatsCan asks, what is the economic phenomenon that needs to be measured or the social question that needs to be addressed?

StatsCan has several different mechanisms to engage with government agencies as well as with external partners. One way to begin these partnerships is to hold events. For example, a chief statistician at StatsCan might hold an open event for all public servants to attend. These events can focus on a particular research question or be directed at one distinct agency or department, which can be done at the local or federal level.

Florida’s Department of Juvenile Justice similarly holds multi-stakeholder workgroups at annual conferences to bring together other legislative staff and researchers to find a common data sharing goal and discuss research goals at the local level.

These events provide the opportunity to engage with various stakeholders and learn more about the types of issues that require data or where data needs can be met.

StatsCan has also created various advisory committees that focus on a particular issue or similar subject matter. For example, StatsCan created the Canadian Statistics Advisory Council, which includes members from StatsCan and the Minister of Science, Innovation and Industry. The committee meets twice a year to discuss data needs and what’s happening in the policy landscape within those departments.

Committees provide the opportunity to identify data needs and if necessary, start a collection process for data that doesn’t exist. To fill these data gaps, StatsCan works with public servants to gather new data through citizen surveys or by creating a framework to collect it through administrative data or other technical processes.

According to the Pew Centre for Public Policy, having a dedicated staff that can identify partners able to help solve policy problems can move the process forward.

Making relationships official

Once relationships have been established, data sharing agreements can make data sharing more robust and the collection process more straightforward, less burdensome and reduce costs.

For instance, the UK Government Digital Service (GDS) has recently created a data-sharing agreement with 12 UK departments to collect data on how individuals use government websites in order to create a better user experience. The agreement allows GDS to acquire data from the 12 departments within the agreement guidelines in order to run analytics.

Data sharing agreements set out how data can be used, and the requirements for data protection and privacy. Agreements can be reviewed and should be in place to ensure data isn’t being misused or personal information isn’t at risk of a data breach. Data agreements should also be in line with any data protection laws within the countries where data sharing is taking place.

In all StatsCan’s data-sharing agreements, there are explicit details of how to handle personal information to ensure privacy. StatsCan follows ten principles for privacy analysis, which includes accountability, safeguarding, openness and accuracy, among others. Also, data has been anonymised for the utmost data protection.

Although forming partnerships may be a challenge to facilitate, evidence-based programs can have rewarding results. In the Canadian province of Ontario, after evaluating evidence, policymakers have instituted supervised consumption sites (SCS) across cities to mitigate potential overdoses and connect people with basic health and social services. At the sites, trained health practitioners give individuals sterile needles for safer injections, conduct overdose management and provide health and social support services to addicts. One study found that 57% of individuals who injected at SCS were likely to enrol in addiction treatment.

“The key to having a strong, high-quality program of statistics and evidence is collaboration and partnerships while having the demonstrated need for the information and the capacity across the system,” said Barr-Telford. “It is the expertise that StatsCan brings to the table combined with the expertise that our colleagues across the federal, provincial, territorial or municipal level have – building that cohesive collaborative relationship is an important step in having data.”  – Amelia Axelsen

(Picture credit: Pixabay)