Digital

  • Data Science Accelerator – 6 new projects welcomed

    9th October 2023 by

    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.

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  • Foundations first – realising the potential of open data

    27th September 2023 by

    A blog by Louise Meikleham, Senior Data Policy Officer in Digital Directorate’s Data Division, explores data’s role in Scotland’s Open Government Action Plan. Data is all around us. From fitness to finance, holidays to health, it’s everywhere. As individuals we use it all the time to make decisions. But we’re not just consumers, we produce...

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  • Independent Expert Group delivers Unlocking the Value of Data report

    10th May 2023 by

    I write this blog post at the end of the week in which the Independent Expert Group (IEG) on Unlocking the Value of Data (UVOD) delivered our final report to the Scottish Government. The IEG has been in existence for just over a year, and comprises a multi-stakeholder group of experts from different domains and disciplines united by our interest in public sector personal data and how it can be accessed by the private sector.

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  • Unlocking the Value of Data for Equality

    26th April 2023 by

    Guest blog by Carol Young, Coalition for Racial Equality and Rights My organisation, the Coalition for Racial Equality and Rights (CRER), welcomed the chance to be involved in Scottish Government’s work on Unlocking the Value of Public Sector Data for Public Benefit. Through membership of the Independent Expert Group (IEG), I was able to bring...

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  • SG Payments Service – Two million pounds milestone reached

    14th December 2022 by

    Blog by Ben Mills, Service Designer, SG Payments Team, Civil Service Fast stream. It has been several months since we last posted an update, and a lot has happened. The Scottish Government Payments Service officially moved into Private Beta in June 2022 when we launched our Minimum Viable Service, working with our first early adopter...

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  • Exploring public sector personal data benefit sharing

    7th December 2022 by

    How can the public sector share personal data with the private sector in publicly trusted ways, to unlock the public benefit of this data? We performed a literature review to enable the Scottish Government to identify (I) relevant approaches to benefit and costs sharing and (II) intellectual property rights or royalties schemes regarding the use of public sector personal data with or by the private sector both in the UK and internationally

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  • Definitions and debates on the path to unlocking the value of public sector data

    14th November 2022 by

    Seemingly simple concepts can disguise hidden complexities, and this has proven true as the Group has discussed what we might mean by 'public sector personal data'. As a citizen and user of Scottish public services, you leave a digital footprint. When you visit a doctor, claim for a benefit, or travel on a public road, data can be collected with legitimate purpose. You leave an electronic echo of your presence.

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  • Online engagement event: Reflections of being Webinar host

    18th October 2022 by

    Guest blog by Carol Sinclair, Strategic Data Adviser for the Scottish Government and Independent Chair of the Health and Social Care Data Board. Determining the best point in time to bring in wider views on any draft document is a bit of a lottery with it highly unlikely you will satisfy the spectrum of views...

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  • Online engagement event: discussing principles for enabling data’s value

    14th October 2022 by

    We hosted the ‘Unlocking Value of Public Sector Personal Data: Guiding Principles Design’ webinar on 1 September, to get feedback from the public and data practitioners on draft high-level principles for the programme. This would be the first of several opportunities for practitioners, and the wider public, to participate in a citizen-led, collaborative process.

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  • Unlocking the Value of Public Sector Data for Public Benefit: Blog #4

    14th October 2022 by

    The IEG met for the fifth time at the end of August, and the focus was on engagement. By this we meant engaging, not just with experts on data, industry representatives and policy makers, but also with the wider community and public. Consequently, engagement experts Democratic Society have been appointed by the Scottish Government to support the group with this important facet of our work.

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