Digital

  • 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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  • Introducing the Pilot Public Engagement Panel on the Use of Public Sector Data

    11th November 2022 by

    Michaela Omelkova, Data Ethics Advisor for the Data & Intelligence Network, introduces us to the pilot public engagement panel looking at the use of Public Sector data. Reading Time: 4 minutes Using data to monitor rainfall will sound uncontroversial to most people. On the other hand, using data to identify vulnerable individuals at risk of…

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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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  • Draft principles for unlocking the value of Scotland’s public sector personal data for public benefit

    19th August 2022 by

    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.

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  • Next steps for Scotland’s Official Statistics Open Data platform

    14th July 2022 by

    Blog by Victoria Avila and Martin Macfie, Data Division, Digital Directorate In the Open Data team within Scottish Government, part of our role is to manage the publication of open datasets on statistics.gov.scot. This is the open data publishing platform for Official Statistics in Scotland. The platform contains around 300 datasets and reference datasets published…

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  • Unlocking the Value of Public Sector Data for Public Benefit: Blog #3

    12th July 2022 by

    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.

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  • Unlocking the Value of Public Data – Third meeting of the Independent Expert Group

    10th June 2022 by

    Guest blog by Annie Sorbie, Lecturer in Law (Medical Law and Ethics), University of Edinburgh, and Member of the Independent Expert Group for Unlocking the Value of Public Data. The Independent Expert Group met in May for the third of our series of monthly meetings. Our task is to advise the Scottish Government on how…

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  • Data and Intelligence Network sets out future plans

    1st June 2022 by

    Blog by Lewis McCathie, Communications and Engagement Manager, Data & Intelligence Network. Created by the Scottish Government in 2020 to provide evidence-based analysis in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, Data & Intelligence Network (DIN) is now looking to build upon this by supporting a number of Scottish Government policy areas so to utilise public sector…

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