[Skip Global Navigation]

News Room

SPSS Press Releases Home

News Release

June 3, 2008

2008: year of missed government objectives?
~ two thirds of civil servants report ‘meeting targets’ as biggest pain-point for 2008 ~

Two thirds of civil servants believe they will fail to meet government-set objectives this year, according to research from SPSS, the worldwide leader of Predictive Analytics software. Furthermore, 40 per cent claim they lack the appropriate skills and resources needed in order for their organisation to succeed.

The respondents were civil servants from across the UK attending the Civil Service Live event held in Westminster on April 1-3. SPSS presented on how public sector bodies are deploying Predictive Analytics technology to analyse citizen data to improve operational processes and detect fraud and risk. The technology will also improve data collection processes for better citizen feedback and satisfaction.

“It’s no secret that government bodies are under more scrutiny now than ever before, in light of the recent series of high-profile mistakes,” said Colin Shearer, senior vice president of market strategy at SPSS. “At the moment, it’s essential to regain the public’s trust, so operational efficiency should be top priority.”

According to SPSS, organisations must make better use of citizen data by deploying tools such as Predictive Analytics to help allocate resources more efficiently, which will in turn help in meeting set targets.

“By making proper use of data that already exists within the public sector, departments should be able to reassess their resource allocation to help to hit those targets,” Shearer added. “It’s a case of tapping into this insight effectively, so that public money gets deployed in the areas it should be.”