Sprint Policy -Data science
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Data science uses new technologies and approaches to gain insights from large and diverse datasets. It has the potential to enhance government policymaking and service delivery. The document outlines four key areas the government is focusing on: 1) conducting alpha projects to develop new data science capabilities and share learning, 2) building data science skills, 3) addressing barriers like data sharing and procurement, and 4) ensuring transparency to develop ethical standards and explore opportunities with external innovators. The goal is to identify high-priority questions that data science can address and demonstrate its value through engagement events with departments and practitioners.
Sprint Policy -Data science
- 1. Data Science and Government What is data science and how can it aid policy making and service delivery? Government Innovation Group (GIG) Government Digital Service (GDS) Government Office for Science (GO Science)
- 2. 2 New technology New low priced storage in the cloud, with software capable of gaining speedy insights New Approach A ‘data first’ mindset, exploring the data to find insights and potential improvements Velocity Data generated/collected in real-time and at frequent Intervals. E.g. website logs can provide data at multiple points per second Variety Data collected from multiple sources and in complex, unstructured formats incompatible with traditional software E.g. from social media or scraped from the web Volume Large amounts of data that require specialist technology to be stored and managed e.g. citizen tax data Data Science New approach New technology Volume Velocity Variety Data science is a new way of gaining insight – and not just from ‘big data’ Data Science and Government
- 3. Government has always worked with data, but data science offers new possibilities • Government gathers and creates vast amounts of data, and these have long been used by skilled analysts to inform policy and operational decisions • Significant advances in capability and cost of technology have opened up new opportunities in data analytics • There are good reasons to tackle this now: i. The need for step changes in public service productivity; ii. The increasing maturity of the knowledge base in the UK; iii.The strength of the government’s new digital services 3 Data Science and Government
- 4. 4 Data Science and Government Data science has the potential to enhance policy making and service delivery Interrogation of data patterns to introduce new insights: • Legislation.gov.uk: The National Archives are looking to improve user experience and identify trends by exploring site search patterns. They are also aiming to improve drafting practices by identifying common vocabulary across legislation. Predicting outcomes to influence policy and operational decisions: • Analysts at the National Offender Management Service have created a tool which can predict the likelihood of offenders to reoffend with serious crimes
- 5. 5 We have identified 4 key strands on which our agenda is focussed There are a few examples across government, but there has been little strategic planning to coordinate work or maximise the possibilities 1. Trial Data Science alpha projects: Developing new data science projects and sharing learning from existing capability across government with a focus on catalysing activity Barriers Actions Data Science and Government
- 6. 6 Data Science and Government There are a number of practical barriers around skills, technical and procurement issues and policy 2. Build Capability: Addressing the skills gap by hiring external talent while working with analytical professions and policy makers to develop longer term plans for building capability 3. Unlock practical barriers: • Dealing with standards, technical & procurement challenges • Exploring policy uncertainty, e.g. on data sharing Barriers Actions We have identified 4 key strands on which our agenda is focussed
- 7. 7 Data Science and Government There are public acceptability risks that need to be treated with utmost respect 4. Work in a radically transparent way: Using Open Policy Making techniques to explore the potential with innovators inside and outside government and to develop an ethical code Barriers Actions We have identified 4 key strands on which our agenda is focussed
- 8. • We will be conducting workshops with particular departments to identify high priority policy or operational questions and how they can be addressed through data science • We will be attending further events to demonstrate the potential of data science: • Heads of Analysis conference – 2nd July • Working level practitioner’s meeting – 29th May • If you are interested in collaborating with us, please get in touch 8 Data Science and Government We will be engaging more widely to explore the priority areas and communicate the outcomes of alpha projects
Editor's Notes
- #4: Although these tools are being used across government, we are not fully maximising the potential.