The Department for Transport (DfT) has set up a Developing Data Unit to lead its work in the field.
Writing in a blogpost, team leader Giuseppe Sollazzo says it is beginning to work on the department’s data strategy and culture, and to provide operational support to data related projects. This takes in technical, ethical, commercial and governance issues.
He says the team includes policy and strategy experts, technical specialists and data management leads.
Its work includes mapping and cataloguing the available datasets for transport, releasing as much of it as possible, developing publication standards, streamlining document release processes, and making sure that data ethics is embedded in the DfT’s thinking.
“As a team that is working to give data a more central role, we want to have an impact on all the above areas,” Sollazzo says. “We will work to make sure that DfT is well placed in this data driven arena.
“We will support both internal and external data work across the spectrum of transport providers and users.”
Standards and statistics
The DfT’s work on data comprises a number of streams, including the setting of data sharing standards to support transport, the publication of transport statistics, the management of innovation funding and supporting data sharing between local transport authorities and operators.
Among the priorities identified by Sollazzo are to make data releases sustainable, make sure data contributes effectively to operations and contracts, and build skills within the department.
Image by Sam Kelly through Wikimedia Commons
