Stewart Hamilton
Written 209 posts
Communications and Engagement Officer
Security Principles – ScotAccount
27th October 2023
Laurie Brown, Digital Information Security Officer within Scottish Government, provides strategic information security direction, assurance and governance across a number of Scottish Government digital public services including the work of the digital identity programme.
Technology Assurance Framework – what we learned from Digital Standard Assessments in 2022/23
18th October 2023
In 2022/23 28 Digital Standard Assessments were completed under the Technology Assurance Framework (TAF). The Digital Assurance Office, who administer the TAF, want to share the lessons learned from our assurance reviews. This blog shares our insights on the areas that presented the most challenge to projects going through a Digital Standard Assessment in 2022/23.
Data Science Accelerator – 6 new projects welcomed
9th October 2023
The Data Science Accelerator is an annual programme that offers public sector analysts the opportunity to develop their data science skills. In September, we welcomed six exciting new projects onto the sixth year of the accelerator in Scotland.
Technology Assurance Framework – what we learned from Major Digital Project Reviews in 2022/23
4th October 2023
Guest blog by Laura Johnstone, Continuous Improvement team, Digital Assurance Office. Blog update – We have now published our 23-24 assurance insights. In 2022/23 45 Major Digital Project Reviews were completed under the Technology Assurance Framework (TAF). The TAF was introduced to support programmes and projects to deliver successful outcomes. The Framework is intended to…
Basic Law-Making For Legislative Computer Systems – Part 5
2nd October 2023
So we have systematically rethought how we build state computer systems – but it is important to remember that the context that leads to them includes important actors who are not in the government world. The voters want things, their desires are mediated by the press and think tanks and political parties – things happen in context.
Basic Law-Making For Legislative Computer Systems – Part 4
25th September 2023
Blog by Scottish Government, Research Fellow, Gordon Guthrie. Gordon is a Research Fellow at the Scottish Government under the First Minister’s Digital Fellowship Programme. All opinions in this blog are his own and they do not represent Scottish Government policy. This is the fourth of five articles outlining the research of the Blus project – Basic…
Unlocking the Value of Data Programme report published
12th September 2023
The Scottish Government commissioned this multi-disciplinary group to explore the issue of private sector use of public sector personal data in Scotland, as public sector data controllers had identified the need for clearer guidance in this area. The report proposes high-level principles and a series of recommendations to guide ethical access to public sector personal data in Scotland.
Basic Law-Making For Legislative Computer Systems – Part 3
11th September 2023
If we are to make the production of digital systems explicit we need to every participant to be able to understand their role – and critically that means making the technical decisions visible and comprehensible.
Basic Law-Making For Legislative Computer Systems – Part 2
4th September 2023
This is the second of five articles outlining the research of the BIus project – Basic Law-Making For Legislative Computer Systems. Read the first here – it outlines the problems of connecting slow legislative iteration to fast digital development processes.
Basic Law-Making For Legislative Computer Systems – Part 1
28th August 2023
We know that the law and government is also an iterative process. Laws are passed, and retrospectively amended. Acts of parliament (primary legislation) grants Ministers powers to make and remake law by orders (secondary legislation) and civil servants the powers to write and rewrite ordinary regulations.