#DataPolicy
LightNews LightNews
owenboswarva.bsky.social
Whatever happened to the UK Government's Open Address Register programme? www.owenboswarva.com/blog/post-ad... 🤔

Another blog post about #openaddresses, based in part on recent #FOI responses from the UK's Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.

#opendata #geospatial #datapolicy
In my view, the OS report does not really demonstrate whether it is feasible to produce an authoritative list of UK address data as maintained by local authorities, without using intellectual property owned by Royal Mail – in line with the proposal in the recent Lords amendment. The feasibility of that proposal depends mainly on the development of policy options, including clarification of IP rights – not on technical development of an entirely new data product. It is possible that the 2016 OAR work covered some of that ground but, given the evident lack of wide-ranging consultation and Government's ongoing refusal to release any policy or legal analyses, we should not assume that the case for open addresses was considered in depth or in good faith.
October 1, 2024 at 7:55 AM
raquelrguima.bsky.social
Important statement from APDU on public data policy. The way data is handled affects us all.

#PublicData #DataPolicy
APDU Statement on Public Data – Association of Public Data Users
apdu.org
February 3, 2025 at 8:57 PM
owenboswarva.bsky.social
Science advice note from the UK's Government Office for Science:

What are the opportunities a National Data Library can provide and what can we learn from past initiatives? www.gov.uk/government/p...

(The Government Chief Data Officer at the time has since left.)

#govtech #datasharing #datapolicy
This note summarises an expert roundtable held in October 2024, discussing the opportunities a National Data Library can provide and what we can learn from past initiatives, including innovations in the private sector and in start up communities Rapid projects support government departments to understand the scientific evidence underpinning a policy issue or area by convening academic, industry and government experts at a single roundtable. These summary meeting notes seek to provide accessible science advice for policymakers. They represent the combined views of roundtable participants at the time of the discussion and are not statements of government policy.
July 29, 2025 at 10:27 AM
owenboswarva.bsky.social
The UK's Open Data Institute (ODI) has published its annual accounts to the end of 2024 find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/0803...

£555,174 loss for the year after taxation. Nobody panic though it's just a real estate thing, London is hella expensive

#opendata #datapolicy
"Results and dividends "The loss for the year, after taxation, amounted to £555,174 (2023 - loss £105,049)." Two paragraphs describing the ODI's arrangments for leasing properties.
October 10, 2025 at 3:16 PM
owenboswarva.bsky.social
The UK National Data Library Symposium www.kcl.ac.uk/events/the-u... on 9 June, organised by the Centre for Data Futures* at King's College London

* No, me neither. Roger Taylor is their "Impact Lead" if that tells you anything.

Tickets are free. Help build the discourse.

#datasharing #datapolicy
Hosted by King's College London, this half-day event focuses on the transformative role of data in research, policymaking, and innovation. Bringing together researchers, policymakers, educators, and data professionals, the symposium discusses the significance, challenges, and opportunities associated with the National Data Library – a UK government initiative aiming to generate greater benefit from public data. Invited talks will delve into the limitations imposed by outdated infrastructure and systems, which can hinder effective data sharing and use, and discuss the role the National Data Library will play in updating this landscape. Sessions will also examine the pressing need for robust data privacy measures to protect sensitive information in an increasingly digital and AI-driven landscape. Furthermore, equitable access to data is emphasized as vital for ensuring inclusivity and fostering societal advancements. We will also explore how AI technologies could enhance data utility while navigating these challenges.
April 18, 2025 at 9:24 AM
Think you can delete old data anytime? ⚠️ A smart retention policy protects you from legal risks and costly mistakes.

Read More Here: sm.avglink.to/44z44

#DataPolicy #SmallBizSecurity #RecordKeeping #ComplianceTips #RiskManagement
August 29, 2025 at 1:15 PM
owenboswarva.bsky.social
Statement from the UK Statistics Authority: National Statistician Sir Ian Diamond has resigned "due to ongoing health issues" uksa.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/news/stateme...

Parts of media will link this to (overblown) concerns about quality of ONS's economic data outputs.

#datapolicy #opendata
May 9, 2025 at 12:56 PM
owenboswarva.bsky.social
Tech experts to shape government digital vision to drive innovation and boost public services www.gov.uk/government/n...

New panel to help the UK Government make better use of technology across the public sector, announced by DSIT.

#techpolicy #datapolicy #govtech #timestechsummit
The panel includes: ● Martha Lane Fox – Entrepreneur and crossbench peer (Co-Chair) ● Poppy Gustafsson OBE - Technology entrepreneur and co-founder of Darktrace ● Paul Willmott – Chair of the Central Digital and Data Office (Co-Chair) ● Jeni Tennison – Founder and Executive Director of Connected by Data ● Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon MBE – Social Entrepreneur, computer scientist, CEO of Stemettes ● Lou Cordwell – Professor of Innovation, University of Manchester ● Aaron Maniam – Fellow of Practice and Director, Digital Transformation Education, Blavatnik School of Government ● David Eaves – Co-Deputy Director and Associate Professor at UCL ● Sarah Hunter – Technology Policy Advisor, Board member at ARIA and Former Director of Global Public Policy at 'X the Moonshot Factory' ● Lisa Harrington – Tech and Growth Advisor ● Josie Cluer – Partner, People Consulting, EY ● Lord Richard Allan – Technology Adviser
October 1, 2024 at 1:06 PM
psdi-uk.bsky.social
Don’t miss this opportunity to hear first-hand how UKRI’s evolving policy will shape the future of research data management in the UK, and what it means for you.

📅 Register for your free place today: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/psdi-showc...

#PSDI #OpenScience #Event #Research #DataPolicy
August 5, 2025 at 12:17 PM
psdi-uk.bsky.social
The UK Research #DataPolicy, primarily driven by @ukri.org, emphasizes making research data open and accessible, with clear guidelines on data management, sharing, and retention.

Key aspects include #openaccess to data post publication, ethical & legal compliance, and others... [contd.]
August 16, 2025 at 9:51 AM
owenboswarva.bsky.social
Smart Data Discovery Challenge: significant insights and outcomes www.gov.uk/government/p... use case reports by Nesta Challenge Works and @odihq.bsky.social with an overall analysis from the UK Department for Business and Trade

#smartdata #datapolicy
This document sets out the insights and outcomes drawn from the 14 shortlisted use cases in the Smart Data Discovery Challenge. These use cases are conceptual. Detail regarding feasibility and operation under regulations would require further work and public consultation. The first section provides an overall analysis of the benefits derived from the use case insights. It includes consumer benefits, societal benefits, and for use cases which included quantitative insights, monetised results were considered. This section was written by DBT. The second section of this document sets out individual insights reports for each use case. The insights include a summary of the use case, an explanation of how the use case would work, benefits, data requirements, future considerations, and a visualisation of the data flow. These reports were written by Nesta Challenge Works and the Open Data Institute.
March 21, 2025 at 3:30 PM
owenboswarva.bsky.social
(UK Labour's default approach – carry on with what the Tories were doing – doesn't work very well in this policy area, because the past few Governments weren't up to much.)

#opengov #opendata #datapolicy
November 5, 2024 at 6:02 PM
theimpactlab.co.uk
Have you seen good models or bad ones? If you work with SRS or IDS UK, what do your approvals / data sharing agreements say about downstream use and public benefit?

#ONS #SRS #ADRUK #OpenData #DataEthics #UKData #SocialImpact #GovTech #DataPolicy
October 10, 2025 at 1:18 PM
owenboswarva.bsky.social
AI Opportunities Action Plan www.gov.uk/government/p... independent report from tech entrepreneur Matt Clifford, with UK Government response

DSIT written statement questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-stat...

Starmer speech www.gov.uk/government/s...

#AIpolicy #techpolicy #datapolicy
AI Opportunities Action Plan. Ramping up AI adoption across the UK to boost economic growth, provide jobs for the future and improve people's everyday lives.
January 13, 2025 at 3:34 PM
owenboswarva.bsky.social
Re sell-off of Royal Mail to Daniel Křetínský's EP Group:

IDS update otp.tools.investis.com/Utilities/PD... + DBT press release www.gov.uk/government/n...

Nothing on the Postcode Address File. (Application of s116 of the Postal Services Act 2000 is unaffected, afaict.)

#datapolicy not- #opendata
December 16, 2024 at 10:02 AM
owenboswarva.bsky.social
Job – Head of Products and Services – National Data Library at the Government Digital Service in Bristol, London, Manchester www.civilservicejobs.service.gov.uk/csr/jobs.cgi... (UK)

#govtech #datapolicy
The National Data Library is a high profile, ambitious, manifesto commitment which intends to realise this potential through responsibly unlocking the highest-value public sector data for use by businesses, academia and the public sector. We are looking for a dynamic, passionate and experienced Head of Products and Services to lead the design, development, and delivery of user-centric data products and services within the National Data Library. The Head of Products and Services job is a key leadership role in the delivery of a high-priority manifesto commitment that will impact tens of millions of people every day – join us if you want a challenge with purpose!
September 14, 2025 at 3:47 PM
owenboswarva.bsky.social
Labour wins UK election: top 10 tech manifesto pledges techinformed.com/labour-wins-...

Labour wins race to lead UK, but few would envy the load in its tech in-tray www.theregister.com/2024/07/05/l...

The defunct DPDI Bill bills.parliament.uk/bills/3430/p...

#GE2024 #datapolicy #techpolicy
July 5, 2024 at 11:43 AM
owenboswarva.bsky.social
The UK government as a data provider for AI theodi.org/insights/rep... from @odihq.bsky.social

Report based on poking LLMs to figure out what gov info they can regurgitate. Weirdly, treats DGU as a publication platform rather than what it is, a metadata catalogue.

#datapolicy #opendata #genAI
Main findings The first experiment investigated how government websites contribute to the performance of LLMs in public service tasks. This is where a citizen of a country queries the LLM for information on government policy related to their situation, for instance in the context of welfare schemes and their eligibility criteria. Adapting an established methodology, we find two key results: Key result 1: Government websites are demonstrably important data providers for LLMs. Key result 2: Government websites remain a key source of information for LLMs, in particular on subject matters that are not widely discussed online, such as the interactions between welfare schemes like Universal Credit and Child Benefit. The second experiment explored whether datasets from data.gov.uk contribute to LLMs' knowledge bases. Using specific prompting techniques, we found that the tested LLMs could recall almost none of the statistics published on data.gov.uk, indicating: Key result 3: data.gov.uk is not a data provider for foundational models.
December 6, 2024 at 7:25 PM
odihq.bsky.social

Free Webinar: Data & AI Policy in 2025 📅 Tue, Jan 21

🎤 Grace Nelson (US)
🎤 Connor Dunlop (EU)
🎤 Gavin Freeguard (UK)

Join experts from Assembly Research, Ada Lovelace Institute, and ODI for key insights on global AI & data trends.
🔗 Book now: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/data-and-a...

#AI #DataPolicy
Grace Nelson
January 20, 2025 at 5:44 PM
owenboswarva.bsky.social
Ministers reject MPs' proposals on cross-department data sharing www.civilserviceworld.com/professions/...

UK Government response to committee report on Transforming the UK Evidence Base committees.parliament.uk/committee/32...

#datasharing #datapolicy #govtech
The Starmer administration's response to the report rejects three of the main proposals. They include developing a "comprehensive new programme aimed at improving data-sharing for statistical and research purposes" and establishing mechanisms to ensure the costs of data sharing are borne centrally, rather than by individual departments. … In the official government response to the report, ministers insist they are "committed to increasing and improving data sharing" but say an even more comprehensive approach than that prescribed by PACAC is being developed. "The government is reinvigorating the design of the digital centre of government in the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology, to maximise the potential of digital, data and technology to deliver digital transformation for the public,” the response says.
March 10, 2025 at 2:22 PM
owenboswarva.bsky.social
Also too close to call: the seats of the two Tory ministers most closely associated with #datapolicy in recent years:

● Michelle Donelan, Melksham & Devizes
● Julia Lopez, Hornchurch and Upminster

#GE2024 #UKpol #dataprotection
July 4, 2024 at 10:42 PM
owenboswarva.bsky.social
#FOI release: Measuring Impact of the Geospatial Commission www.owenboswarva.com/blog/post-gc... new blog post with a short discussion paper released by DSIT

Various redactions, including the identified benefits per year from the Public Sector Geospatial Agreement (PSGA).

#geospatial #datapolicy
August 8, 2024 at 7:56 PM
owenboswarva.bsky.social
Job – Chair of the UK's Geospatial Commission, three days per month www.saxbam.com/appointment/... #geospatial #datapolicy

Not published on the Public Appointments site, for some reason apply-for-public-appointment.service.gov.uk

This is the post currently held by Sir Bernard Silverman.
The successful candidate will bring experience in geospatial enterprise or big data environments with a strong understanding of economic principles and their application in business contexts. They should have strategic leadership experience in major technology projects, with a track record of successfully overseeing and delivering complex initiatives. Familiarity with working within or an understanding of government environments is desirable.
March 27, 2024 at 9:27 AM
owenboswarva.bsky.social
Data for a modern civil service www.techuk.org/resource/dat... from @techuk.bsky.social

Tch – "opening up individual level data across departments" is not open data.

#Opendata, by definition, can be disseminated without "security guardrails".

#techpolicy #datapolicy #openwashing
Open Data Initiatives A data-driven smarter state is characterised by increased transparency and accountability. Open data initiatives empower citizens and enable cross government access to data. The Office for National Statistics are world leaders in opening up independent aggregated statistics fostering value quality and trustworthiness that enables citizens to hold their government accountable. While necessary security guardrails must remain, opening up individual level data across departments could significantly increase efficiencies in citizen facing transactional services unlocking further public value.
September 6, 2024 at 7:46 AM
owenboswarva.bsky.social
UKRI is developing a new research data policy framework to support an "open" research and innovation culture www.ukri.org/news/ukri-de...

This is your regular reminder that adherence to #FAIRdata principles does not mandate #opendata. So we'll see.

#researchdata #datasharing #datapolicy
New pan-UKRI research data policy framework will maximise the value of data arising from UKRI funding and support an open research and innovation culture. The new policy framework is being developed collaboratively by the research councils, Research England and Innovate UK. It will update and streamline expectations and guidance for research data arising from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) research funding. This will include guidance relating to research data management plans and making data findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable (the FAIR data principles), and will take account of the latest technological advances.
December 16, 2024 at 1:52 PM