Data Foundations for Government in 2025
As governments worldwide adopt artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance efficiency and deliver citizen-focused services, a critical question arises: are the necessary data foundations in place to support these ambitions? The report Data foundations for government: From AI ambition to action by the Capgemini Research Institute examines how prepared public sector organizations are to leverage their data for better decision-making, improved efficiency, and AI-driven transformation.
Current State of AI and Data Readiness
Many public sector organizations are actively exploring or implementing generative AI initiatives. In fact, 90% plan to explore, pilot, or deploy agentic AI within the next two to three years. However, realizing AI’s benefits depends heavily on strong data foundations that guarantee data availability, accessibility, quality, and governance, supported by scalable infrastructure.
Despite this, fewer than 25% of organizations report high maturity in any area of data readiness. Only about one-third qualify as frontrunners in building these data capabilities, highlighting a significant gap between AI ambitions and current data practices.
Data Sharing and Sovereignty Concerns
- Every organization surveyed either has or plans to launch data sharing initiatives. These are essential for tackling complex societal challenges that cross departmental and jurisdictional boundaries.
- However, 65% remain in planning or pilot phases, with just 35% having fully deployed data sharing efforts.
- Concerns about data sovereignty are widespread: 64% worry about data control, 58% about cloud usage, and 52% about AI governance. Maintaining agency over digital assets remains a top priority.
Survey Scope and Insights
The report is based on a global survey of 350 executives from public sector organizations across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the Middle East. It includes agencies at national, state, local, and international levels, covering areas such as public administration, tax and customs, welfare, defense, security, and healthcare.
Data foundations for government: From AI ambition to action offers practical guidance for government leaders, Chief Data Officers, and Chief AI Officers. It provides a clear roadmap to close the gap between AI goals and data readiness, enabling governments to improve services and innovate responsibly.
To explore how AI is reshaping government operations and get actionable recommendations, download the full report here.
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