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Exploring public sector challenges through the lens of data: The 2024 Data Science Accelerator

September 11, 2024 by Stewart Hamilton No Comments | Category Data, Data Science Accelerator, Digital Scotland

Blog by Joyce Dalgleish, Data Innovation and Change Lead, Scottish Government.

The Scottish Data Science Accelerator offers an annual development opportunity for public sector staff to build data science skills through the exploration of a real-life public sector data challenge with the support of a mentor.  On 4 September, our year 7 cohort came together to kick off the programme for 2024 with each participant presenting their project to our guests and sponsors.

2024 Data Science Accelerator projects

• Identifying confirmed T21/T18/T13 within antenatal and infant genetic testing data: Laura Naismith, Data Management Officer, Public Health Scotland; Mentor: Helen Price, Scottish Government
  
  
• National Resource Allocation Shiny app: Public-facing dashboard for users in Scotland to explore trends in resource allocation for healthcare services: Maiana Sanjuan, Senior Information Analyst, Public Health Scotland; Mentor: Sam Hunter, National Records of Scotland
  
  
• Prediction of social care referrals for hospital inpatients: Scott Mclaren-Gow, Senior Information Analyst, Public Health Scotland; Mentor: Philip Cameron, Scottish Government
  
  
• Predicting changes in quality of care in early learning and childcare services: Sam Henderson-Palmer, Information Analyst, Care Inspectorate; Mentor: Thomas Wilson, Scottish Government.
  
  
• Text analysis of intergovernmental interactions: Annie Bosse, Researcher, Scottish Parliament; Mentor: Toni Jambazova, Public Health Scotland
  
  
• Using machine learning to identify clusters of households in poverty: Spencer Thomson, Economic Advisor, Scottish Government; Mentor: Chenglei Hu, University of Glasgow

Pictured left to right – Five of the 2024 Data Science Accelerator participants – Sam Henderson-Palmer, Laura Naismith, Annie Bosse, Scott Mclaren-Gow and Spencer Thomson.

Being part of the Accelerator is being part of a community committed to exploring important challenges through the lens of data. Our 6 participants are joining a select band of Accelerator alumni, mentors, managers and organisations who have brought projects to the Accelerator since 2018. Collectively they are creating interest in and momentum for data science and evidence-based decision making across the public sector.

This is the first year since the programme began in Scotland that we’ve been able to bring in a full complement of volunteer mentors. Previous mentors have told us that they gain a lot from the experience so it’s a great way to spread the benefits of this work. We’re delighted that Vyron Christodoulou, Data Scientist at The Data Lab will be our lead mentor, supporting our volunteers.

At our launch event we were also joined by The Data Lab’s Industry, Partner and Skills Lead, Sandra Ripley who highlighted the role of The Data Lab in supporting innovation, skills, talent and community in Scotland. Sandra outlined the different ways in which organisations and individuals can work with them. The Data Lab have been a partner in the Accelerator since the outset.

In his closing remarks, Nick Downes, Deputy Director and Head of Digital and Information Services, Directorate for Agriculture and the Rural Economy, Scottish Government spoke about the need for insight driven decision making for improving business outcomes. Nick reminded us of the importance of iterating and experimenting knowing not every idea will succeed. Being open to different ways of approaching a problem and resist the temptation to start with the solution.  We can always do more to better understand the user problem, learning from our potential users and their needs because the best results arise from co-creation.  

Pictured Nick Downes, Scottish Government.

Warmest thanks to everyone who took part in our launch. It was exciting to have the chance to hear about our 6 wonderful projects first hand. We clearly have an exciting 12 weeks ahead and we’re already looking forward to December when we will see the results of everyone’s work.

If you’d like to find out more about any of the projects or want to get a head start on a project for 2025, please get in touch with us at DataScienceAccelerator@gov.scot.

The Data Science Accelerator is delivered in partnership with National Records of Scotland, Public Health Scotland, Registers of Scotland and The Scottish Government in partnership with The Data Lab and Scottish Digital Academy.

Tags: Accelerator, Data Science Accelerator, public sector data, scotland, scottish government, The Data Lab

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