The client is a specially formed unit responsible for monitoring the implementation of the government’s economic stimulus package, designed to mitigate the economic impact of COVID-19 pandemic in the country in 2020.

The client is required to provide regular reporting to the economic council to ensure that the recovering initiatives are delivered effectively and transparently.

The package consists of tax reliefs, loans, grants, subsidies and cash handouts, administered by 53 different agencies and private institutions. Given the scale and complexities in data residency, governance, controls and systems, the client needed an implementation partner with specialist domain knowledge in law, data, analytics, technology, and project management to ensure funds are not only disbursed properly but meet economic metrics.

In just two weeks, a multidisciplinary team of EY professionals, together with Microsoft, delivered a digital dashboard that links together data from the 53 different agencies and institutions, and accurately measures and tracks the implementation of wave 1 and 2 of the economic stimulus package.

In delivering this dashboard, the team:

• Built a centralized, scalable data platform that can flex with new and increasing volumes of data
• Collaborated with the various stakeholders to design a common set of definitions, parameters, and processes for key terms such as disbursements and approvals
• Implemented data governance and standardization for reporting and dashboard visualizations
• Designed a detailed reporting process including times of release and proper vetting procedures
• Took an agile approach; developing on a weekly basis, using an iteration process that was effective and efficient for time-poor decision makers
• Took a business-led, data-and-technology-enabled approach to getting the different stakeholders to cooperate and bring the C-level decision makers along on the journey, maintaining engagement and progress momentum

After only a six-month project period, the client had the tools and capabilities to use data and analytics to make intelligent, fact-based decisions that will boost its economic recovery after COVID-19 pandemic.

The data platform and digital dashboard helped the client through:

•  Real-time tracking and monitoring of funds disbursements at different levels of granularity
•  Reporting on how much of the funds have reached the beneficiaries and identifying bottlenecks
•  Identifying lead indicators of economic impact: using real-time data and analytics to determine how funds are used to stimulate GDP and create employment
• Direct citizen sentiment: using AI and machine learning to analyze responses to the initiatives and use the analytical insights to make decisions that will help deliver better outcomes
• 360-degree beneficiary view: insights on how people are receiving it in real-time, how it benefits them, who the non-beneficiaries are and employment impact

The team has moved on to design a broad beneficiary survey to capture and analyze the outcomes of the packages. These insights will be used for policy design, targeting strategies and to empower the government to continue to use data and analytics for better decision-making.