Digital

  • Unlocking the Value of Data Programme report published

    12th September 2023 by

    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.

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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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  • 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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  • 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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  • 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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