A new flagship event is set to explore the data-sharing opportunity in UK government. Here’s what I’m looking forward to discussing on the day.
What if the UK civil service always knew exactly where to direct its resources, so that every penny of taxpayers’ money was well spent and accounted for?
It may seem an impossible vision. But the means to make it happen is available right now: the data that sits in siloed systems and databases across government. The untapped potential in that data, is something we’ve been highlighting since we launched our public sector business in 2017. Through research published in 2018 and the roundtable event hosted by Sir John Manzoni at the time and other events since, we have managed to spearhead the dialogue on exploring and capitalising on the data-sharing opportunity.
Now, data-sharing in government is set to get a further boost with Public Service Data Live—a flagship event championed by Simon Case, Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service. It’s taking place this Thursday 14th September at London’s Business Design Centre, and will kick off a wider ‘One Big Thing’ initiative around data upskilling for the Civil Service.
I’m honoured to have been invited to participate on behalf of Cognizant, to share our experience and expertise in enabling secure, open data-sharing across government. Here are just three of the themes I’m looking forward to discussing and hearing about on the day.
The data-sharing opportunity in government
As a now-established data partner to central and local government, we have many opportunities to see at close hand the benefits that secure, open data-sharing can deliver.
A good example is NHS England’s Cohorting-as-a-Service initiative, which securely identifies groups of people with shared characteristics from national health data. These groups can then be targeted with relevant campaigns, such as the flu and Covid vaccines. The data is shared anonymously, but it allows resources to be directed to where they are most valuable.
There’s huge potential for such initiatives across the NHS and the wider public sector, but that potential can only be realised if citizens—like you and me—are satisfied that our data will be used safely and responsibly.
Solutions for secure data-sharing to drive evidence-based policymaking are desperately needed to ensure taxpayers’ money is well spent, and I’m looking forward to discussing this at a 3.40pm plenary session on the day with panellists including Kamal Bal, Digital Director at the Ministry of Justice, Alex Longden, Head of Data Strategy and Standards at Ordnance Survey, Sir Robert Chote, Chair of the UK Statistics Authority, Emma Gordon, Director, ADR, United Kingdom Economic and Social Research Council and Albert King, Chief Data Officer, Digital & Security, NHS National Services Scotland.
Overcoming data silos and data complexities
One of the biggest technological barriers to data-sharing across government is fragmentation. Data resides in many different formats, in many different systems, in many different departments and organisations. Each organisation only has a partial view of the community they’re serving, meaning nuances are lost and opportunities to deliver better, more targeted service are missed.
Bringing together data from different sources can be transformative in terms of both service delivery and budget spend. A project we’ve been working on with Network Rail, for example, has enabled the nation’s primary rail infrastructure owner to move from reactive maintenance of its property assets—like bridges, stations and trackside buildings—to intelligent, proactive maintenance.
Previously, the lack of a unified system led to data silos and visibility issues, resulting in asset failures, accidents, and unplanned maintenance. Now, a new, integrated system brings together map data, images, sensor data and 3D models, and applies AI and analytics to predict and prevent asset failures. As well as helping to keep passengers and railway staff safe, it also reduces service delays and is projected to deliver a £25m saving to the taxpayer by 2029.
It's just one example of what breaking down data silos can do, and I’m excited to hear about other ways the public sector is using data technologies to transform service delivery and drive down costs.
Nurturing a data-sharing culture
Of course, legacy technologies and siloed data aren’t the only barriers to open data-sharing across government. Culture has a huge role to play—both in terms of adopting a data-sharing mindset and acquiring the right skills to share data in a safe and well-governed fashion.
Huge strides have been made on both counts in the past few years, especially as the pandemic spurred government to innovate fast in areas like furlough payments and the vaccine rollout. And there are plenty of new initiatives underway to innovate around data and reap the rewards: one example is our recent work with the Food Standards Agency to develop an algorithmic tool that can identify risky food and feed products being imported into the UK.
More broadly, though, we’ve seen something of a retreat back into old silos, as other pressing issues, like Brexit and the Ukraine war, have come to the fore. That’s why it’s extremely encouraging to see His Majesty’s Government, Civil Service and the Cabinet Office putting data-sharing firmly back on the agenda with Public Service Data Live, which will give a big boost to the growing data-sharing community within the civil service.
Let’s continue the conversation at Public Service Data Live
There’s growing recognition in government that data is a national asset—to be treasured and protected, but also leveraged to improve the way services are delivered to all of us. When that asset can be shared, safely and securely, across government, the potential for transformation is exciting.
I’m very much looking forward to hearing from the civil service data community about their ideas and aspirations, and to sharing some of the experience that we as Cognizant have gained as a specialist data partner to many government departments. If you’re attending Public Service Data Live on the 14th September, please do say hello, and let’s continue this conversation on the day.
