(US and Canada) Kshemendra Paul, U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs Chief Data Officer, speaks with Adita Karkera, Deloitte Consulting LLP Chief Data Officer, Government & Public Services, in this video interview about data literacy beyond technical skills and combining data strategy with the Department of Defense.

Paul says that using modern data management and analytics among the headquarters, the field, programs, organizational units, or other functional domains requires education to make it concrete. He mentions that the organization has a reasonably large data analyst workforce — about 10,000 individuals and a community of part-time analysts.

Paul explains that the sizable workforce opens up opportunities for technical education, upskilling, and data literacy, which ties to the organization’s community-building goal. He shares that a critical metric for the data strategy and the people goal is engaging the workforce and understanding their needs.

Concerning the joint data strategy with the DOD, Paul points out that a veteran’s journey is not always a linear flow; they sometimes step back into active duty and then return to veteran status. He indicates that the underlying systems, business processes, and data management pathways are not built to support these shifts.

Paul explains that the joint strategy with the DOD for data analytics will provide a framework with capstone data and analytics governance between the two departments, harmonizing the data analytics policy. He adds that any change in the information in one system, in one department, will reflect in the other.

For example, Paul elaborates that implementing a single electronic health record between the DOD and the VA will ensure data quality across the two departments and improve data migration.

Summarizing, Paul states that the organization is focused on improving data quality and management to benefit veterans.

CDO Magazine thanks Kshemendra Paul for contributing his thought leadership to our global community.

See more from Kshemendra Paul

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