Most recently, a work plan was outlined by the Foshan government, which includes a mission to pilot the system of Chief Data Officer (CDO) by the end of 2021. By giving full play to CDO, Foshan aims to gain more progress in four tasks, including the building of a digital government. As the pilot project picks up more experience, the CDO system is expected to be rolled out next year. Reportedly, Foshan is one of the first prefecture-level cities designated by Guangdong government this April to conduct experiment with this system.

According to "Work Plan on Piloting Foshan Chief Data Officer System" (hereinafter referred to as "the Plan"), Foshan will build a team of professional CDOs. For district-level governments and departments, they are required to hire CDOs of their own. The piloting project covers 23 city-level departments, including Foshan Municipal Bureau of Education, Foshan Bureau of Industry and Information Technology and so on). Towns/communities and district-level governments with qualified conditions can also go for the trial.

A CDO is mainly characterized by the following four roles:

1) push forward the building of digital government (formulate blueprints, standards & specifications and action plans for the governments or departments where they belong);

2) coordinate data management and integration & innovation (keep track of data use both internally and externally; take charge of data sharing, development and utilization; promote deep integration of public data and social data and innovate application scenarios; secure the landing of application scenarios in key areas);

3) ensure guidance and supervision on a regular basis (coordinating major problems in government- or department-level IT projects);

4) build a strong pool of digital talents (build a team focusing on the building of digital government, and build an system of promotion, rewards and punishment).

According to the Plan, a qualified CDO must meet the following requirements:

1) familiar with government administration and operations;

2) a strong leadership and the capacities of coordination, organization and information project management;

3) rich previous experience on big data and information technology.

According to the local government, the piloting project will help to improve public data governance, operation and supervision in a way that leads the city to becoming "Digital Foshan".

Author | Jersey

Revisor | Jessica, Ivy