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Accelerating Illinois’ Modernization: Creating Data-Driven Value

We are committed to creating a data-driven government and to deliver state services in a way that is efficient, effective and customer-centric.

Editor's note: This 30-day blog focused on Illinois' IT modernization was originally published on LinkedIn, and is republished here with permission.

The state of Illinois collects an enormous amount of data from millions of clients who interact with state government on a daily basis. The state delivers these services across a wide range of agencies, with each agency storing and managing data in its own systems, which many times makes sharing data across agencies impossible.  This is the result of a “technology debt” that has been building up for decades.  A lack of interoperability among systems leads to frustration for consumers and providers of state services.  And until recently the state has lacked a method for effectively managing and analyzing this data.  We are committed to creating a data-driven government and to deliver state services in a way that is efficient, effective and customer-centric.

To address these systemic challenges, we have transformed Illinois Framework project into the Healthcare & Human Services Innovation Incubator (HHS i2).  We are building a Secure Harmonized Data Pool with data from Illinois’ HHS agencies, other government entities and open data, which will provide for the creation of a 360 Degree View of each person and/or family who receives government services.  This is the foundation for achieving our three goals.

1. Efficient Program Management

Once the 360 Degree View is fully implemented, the state will have a shared platform on which we can catalog all of a person’s interactions with state services.  We will create dashboards and other visualizations that will make it possible for case managers and other state employees to easily see all relevant information for an individual at the point of service.  This will break down barriers that exist when trying to share data from agency to agency, increasing the productivity and efficiency of our workforce.

2. Effective Strategic Policymaking

The 360 Degree View, along with improvements in Data Quality and improved business processes, will enable policy makers to more effectively focus on prevention and early intervention by employing Predictive Analytics, rather than relying on “rear-view” Descriptive Analytics.  Agency leadership will be able to compare outcomes across programs and form a holistic view of the people they serve.  Having the state’s HHS data in a secure and reliable environment will also aid Data Integrity by allowing our efforts to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse to be data-driven.

3. Customer-Centric Service Delivery

Many times, individuals are unaware of what services are available to them due to the lack of communication between state systems.  Interoperability will increase customer awareness about the services offered in their communities by providing access to comprehensive information based on a customer’s needs.  It will also reduce the redundancies that are created when customers are asked to provide and verify the same personal information multiple times in order to receive more than one service – saving valuable time for both our employees and the public! 

This is a brand-new venture for the state, and we are in the process of building our data analytics team.  If you or someone you know would like to be a part of this effort, please click the link below for details on some of the available positions for which we are now hiring!

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/join-state-illinois-data-analytics-team-monica-carranza

Or simply send a note to our HR manager Ms. Chris Griffin at chris.griffin@illinois.gov with the subject line, "application for data analytics position."