This is our response to the consultation on Transforming the UK's evidence base.
Since its inception, the Open Data Institute has been committed to our mission: to work with companies and governments to build an open, trustworthy data ecosystem. As the Open Data Institute has argued since its creation, ‘the need to build a trustworthy data ecosystem is paramount’.
We need to ensure that, as much as possible, data is open - accessible, available and assured. We need to ensure that the data that needs to be protected is protected; that we have the right data infrastructure to do that properly; and that we have the data literacy, the right governance (including participatory data governance) and a sufficient grasp of data ethics to build public trust in data use and prevent its abuse.
Our key recommendations
- Data governance processes by government should involve public engagement (including use of citizen-generated data), transparency and oversight
- Official data should aim to address the needs of a wide audience - public servants, academics, journalists, researchers, civil rights groups. This includes ensuring openness. User research should inform this work
- There should be a definition for data literacy across government that includes the ability to critically assess uses of data