Stewart Hamilton
Written 205 posts
Communications and Engagement Officer
Draft principles for unlocking the value of Scotland’s public sector personal data for public benefit
19th August 2022
Members of the Independent Expert Group on Unlocking the Value of Public Data for Public Benefit, have been working over the summer on a draft set of principles to guide decision-making by data controllers in the Scottish public sector. I want to thank my fellow IEG members for their contributions to these draft principles.
Building digital capability means understanding where we are now, as well as where we need to be in the future
19th August 2022
The digital profession in Scottish Government has grown exponentially since it was formed in 2018; we have increased from 400 to over 1,000 permanent and fixed-term staff. Of course, this growth hasn’t been unexpected; especially when you consider the vast increase in pace and demand for digital transformation across all sectors.
Introducing the Digital Citizen Unit
18th August 2022
My name is Eilidh Mclaughlin and I’m here to talk to you about the Digital Citizen Unit in Scottish Government. Wait, stop! I can tell you’re bored already. But behind that somewhat unassuming name, we’re building something really important and exciting for Scotland.
Data and Intelligence Network comes of age
1st August 2022
May 2020 was where it began as the need to collaborate across organisations was recognised to support decision making and management around the COVID-19 pandemic. Gartner was commissioned to lead a taskforce to create a Scottish cross-agency network which would foster collaboration across the public sector’s data community. Thus the Scottish Government COVID-19 Data & Intelligence Network was born.
How the Data Science Accelerator sparked a solution to meet a Covid data challenge
21st July 2022
Blog by Joyce Dalgleish, Business Change Manager, Scottish Public Sector Analytical Collaborative. The Data Science Accelerator is a 12 week development programme that gives public sector analysts the opportunity to build their data science skills through project-based mentoring. Delivered by the Scottish Public Sector Analytical Collaborative (SPACe), the accelerator is helping to develop data science capability…
Charter focuses on opportunities, overcoming barriers and delivering digital infrastructure across Scotland
20th July 2022
Scotland’s Full Fibre Charter provides a framework for Scottish Government and key communications providers to work together to maximise full fibre coverage throughout Scotland.
Unlocking the Value of Public Sector Data for Public Benefit: Blog #3
12th July 2022
In June 2022, the Independent Expert Group (IEG) came together for the fourth time, as part of our series of monthly meetings. As a collection of experts from different sectors, backgrounds and practices, the group is united in its aim to advise the Scottish Government on how personal dataset-holders in the Scottish public sector can make decisions about how these datasets might be used by the private sector. The group wishes to ensure that whenever this occurs, it has to be of public benefit to the people of Scotland, in ways that promote transparency and trust.
Scottish Government’s Design System – user feedback
11th July 2022
Recently, the Payments Service team completed inclusive testing on their service which has been using the Scottish Government Design System standards. The aim was to understand how accessible the task-based navigation and visual design is for the Payments Service.
Recommendations from COP26
8th July 2022
We’ve had further discussions with round table attendees and relevant digital and climate change experts about the top ideas that came out of each round table theme. After these discussions concluded, each of the top ideas was thoroughly investigated and then presented as recommendations to Kate Forbes, Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy and Michael Matheson, Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero, Energy and Transport. These recommendations that are detailed below, were all accepted by both Cabinet Secretaries.
Design systems save organisations money and time
29th June 2022
Blog by Kevin Allen, User Centred Design team, Digital Transformation Division. What is a Design System? A design system comprises a series of building blocks which have been researched, designed, tested and coded. These building blocks are available online for internal and external developers to use. Having pre-built and tested components drastically reduces expensive development…