An update on the Open Data and Government Data Programme from Paul Maltby, Director of Data in the Government Digital Service

1. Open Data & Government Data Programme
Update event for external data users
8 December 2015
Paul Maltby
Director of Data
Government Digital Service
@maltbyps

2. In the last Parliament our data
approach was dominated by
open data
GDS

3. We did okay
GDS

4. The data user community
worked wonders
GDS

5. But like ODI & others we know
we now need to stretch our
approach wider and deeper
GDS

6. That means, where
appropriate, shared data, not
just open data
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7. That means quality, not just
quantity
GDS

8. We will continue the deep
involvement with external data
users to keep pressure on the
quality and quantity of open
data
GDS

9. But the big shift is to drive data
quality by dog-fooding within
government
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10. A new Government Data
Programme aiming to
transform how data is used
across public services
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11. GDS
Too much government data is
Duplicated
In many different formats
Hard to reach
Hard to maintain
Hard to put to good use

12. GDS
Our aim = better digital services

13. GDS
Our aim = good policy and
operational decisions

14. GDS
Our aim = economic benefits

15. GDS
Our aim = public trust & security

16. GDS
The Government Data
Programme has 3 workstreams

17. 1.Better use of data
GDS

18. Driving internal use of new data
with:
Data science and open data projects on
top policy challenges
Data capability and literacy (with ONS)
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19. Maintaining UK’s international
leadership on open data and
transparency
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20. Improving decision making and
boosting demand for data
quality for benefit of all
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21. @cgchristrott
Consul General, Cape Town, SA
Data science opportunities:
Unstructured data and
visualisations
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22. Data Science & the Civil Service 22
Data science opportunities:
Clustering and prediction
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24. There is some unfinished
business on open data
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25. We especially want help from
external users with ODI to
keep driving the open data
agenda
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27. ONS creating mainstream
data science capability among
analysts in government
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28. GDS will be supporting this,
including through data literacy
for non-data specialists
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29. 2. Modernising data
infrastructure
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30. Creating a security-conscious
data layer in government
consisting of
Data access tools
APIs
Registers
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31. Resulting in a National
Information Infrastructure of
open and shared data to fuel
business and government
innovation
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32. Registers: lists of facts where the
government is the canonical source
of truth
API standards: so without friction
appropriate data can be queried
across government
Discovery tools: so civil servants
can find out if data exists & if they
can access it

33. GDS
companies, charities, trade unions, courts, schools,
universities, hospitals, zoos, circuses, inspections,
licences, certificates, births, marriages, deaths,
electoral roll, insolvencies, bankruptcies, passports,
animal passports, drivers, vehicles, land parcels,
land ownership, land use, legal boundaries, awards,
tax rates, benefits, livestock movements, flood risk,
river levels, companies, fish caught, patents,
trademarks, designs, non-native invasive plants,
bank holidays, food standards, clock changes …

34. “SCOLAND UK”
“SCOTALND UK”
“SCOTKLAND UK”
“SCOTLAD UK”
“SCOTLAND”
“SCOTLAND UK”
“SCOTLAND UK”
“SCOTLAND UNITED KINGDO”
“SCOTLAND UNITED KINGDOM”
“SCOTLAND UNITED KINGODM”
“SCOTLAND, UK”
GDS

35. Registers are more than just a list
GDS

36. GDS
Persistent & canonical
Minimum viable dataset
A service, not a list
Integrity of history
Open / shared / private

37. GDS

38. GDS
Registers:
Are owned by a department
Provided as a service for others inside
and outside government
According to common design patterns
& software

39. GDS
Starting with commonly
referenced registers such as
Countries
Companies (limited companies,
charities, sole traders)
Local authorities
Premises
Addresses

40. GDS
No technology big bang required

41. Creating an API infrastructure
across government and, where
appropriate, to users outside
GDS

42. Reducing the need for bulk
data sharing in government
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43. So no more downloading and
emailing data around Whitehall
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44. And no more disks in the post
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45. (but we know how important
bulk availability of data is for
some external users via
data.gov.uk)
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46. We’re also starting to think
about better data discovery
tools - both inside and outside
government
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47. GDS

48. There are currently no tools for
civil servants to know whether
non-open data exists across
government
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49. Never mind knowing whether
they can or should access it
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50. Or having tools available to
help them query the data or
provide basic manipulation, eg
plot on a map
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51. A discovery process on tooling
will start in the new year - we
will be doing user research with
users inside and outside
government
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52. 3. Data policy and governance
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53. Supporting the programme
through cross-dept governance:
Agree the technical approach and
common policies
Data access legislation?
International engagement and policies
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54. Creating shared vision &
ambition and collective rules of
the road
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55. GDS
A new Ministerial Group on
Digital Transformation -
including data

56. An external Steering Group
chaired by National Statistician
John Pullinger
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57. Open Data Institute keeping
our feet to the fire and
connected with external data
users
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See more on the ODI process

58. GDS
At the heart of the programme
senior Data Leaders drawn from
across government

59. Agreeing:
Common policies (eg external sharing)
Data standards
Responsibility for registers
Opportunities for collaboration
And leading the new data vision
across Whitehall
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60. Possible new data access
legislation?
GDS
Research and
statistics
● HMRC
● ADRNs
● ONS admin data
Tailored public
services
● Personal data for
defined & limited
individual benefit
Fraud
● Personal data for
tackling fraud
(with sunset
clause)
See more on the earlier open policy process with civil society at datasharing.org.uk

61. 1
2
3
4
5
Start with clear user need and public benefit
Use data and tools which have the minimum
intrusion necessary
Create robust data science models
Be alert to public perceptions
Be as open as possible
Data science ethical framework
6 Keep data secure
GDS

62. And tackling the big questions
Citizen consent and control of data
When and how data should/shouldn’t be
shared outside government
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63. Better use of data
Open data
Data Science
Data literacy and capability
GDS
Modernising data infrastructure
Data discovery tools
APIs
Registers
Data policy and governance
Common policies and leadership
Possible legislation
International leadership

64. Paul Maltby
Director of Data
Government Digital Service
@maltbyps