The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has launched a consultation on an indicator suite to track progress in developments in the data ecosystem.
It could include measures to show the progress in data sharing and building the data profession within the public sector, as part of the drive to improve the delivery of policy and services.
Minister for Media and Data John Whittingdale MP (pictured) launched the consultation, which will run for 12 weeks, in a statement to Parliament.
“We are calling for evidence to develop an indicator suite that will track developments across the data ecosystem,” he said.
“This is the first time such a product has been produced by government for data use in the UK. To tackle this challenge, and in the spirit of collaboration with which the National Data Strategy has been developed to date, we are seeking the widest possible input to inform the indicator suite’s development, to create a product which can be of value to all members of the data ecosystem.”
Improving capability and sharing
The planned development of the indicator suite reflects a need to track progress in the implementation of the National Data Strategy, one of the key missions of which is to transform government’s use of data. The consultation document says this will lead to a focus over the next 12 months on using the 2021 Spending Review process to build and drive improvements in data capability and sharing in government.
The four pillars of the suite will be data foundations, skills and availability, along with responsible use of data.
For public services, these will be related to measuring the capability, data sharing and holistic government measures, and take in both central and local government.
Whittingdale added that DCMS will provide an update on the development of the indicator suite “in due course”.
Image from GOV.UK, Open Government Licence v3.0
