How does software best support governance?

Here’s an interesting question – what kind of software can best support the individuals who have to make governance decisions – ie our politicians, council leaders?

How do you set about answering such a question?

There are a lot of reports studied about all kinds of issues of policy. Senior politicians probably don’t get time to read them much. They need to be written well – not biased, offering useful conclusions, presented in a concise manner.

There are probably useful ‘indicators’ for our leaders, although perhaps they don’t need to be checked more than once a day or once a month. Unemployment / job creation, balance of payments, poll readings, this sort of thing.

Perhaps most of all, our leaders need skills in understanding situations. Our schools don’t teach this formally. Yet many of us manage to learn how to do it, through situations at school not linked to formal teaching and anything else in life.

Perhaps what senior politicians need to be able to do most of all is spot an expert – and put people in the various roles who do know how to use expertise – and perhaps the best way to get there, is to have been an expert yourself.