Roundup - The National Data Strategy Forum

The government recently launched their long-awaited National Data Strategy and they’re taking a collaborative approach on how the strategy is put into action. 

 The Strategy outlines the economic and social opportunities for better use of data and data-driven technology, across both the public and private sectors and the whole of the UK and we think that no code and low code solutions should be right at the top of the agenda!  

In this session we invited the members of the tech eco-system, in Leeds, the north and nationwide to have their voices heard when it comes to:  

• - Bridging the skills gap 

• - Acceleration and innovation 

• - How the government’s digital and data strategies can be aligned 

We were joined by: 

• Sue Daley – techUK 

• Zandra Moore – Panintelligence 

• Daniel Amini - BJSS 

• Phil Earl - DCMS 

• Dennis Dokter - Nexus 

 You can listen to the whole conversation here:

Bridging the skills gap 

 All of our speakers had a strong belief in the democratisation of data and there was a strong theme around working with the data without actually sharing it.  The human lab from MIT was used as an example where app data was combined with location data in order to highlight economical segregation, this involved monitoring where people would gather by the differences in income levels. Daniel also made a great point in that the language being used in the digital-sphere and the need for more inclusivity; a lexis that’s easy for everyone to digest. 

 Our panel agreed that no code needs to be at the forefront of the data strategy, its simplicity and visibility paired with quick turnarounds allow for ease of access to data, bridging the gap in skills set. If incorporated within schools this would become a norm in future society giving equal opportunity to tap into the government’s wealth of data. 

Phil commented that one of the biggest challenges with data is the perceptions of what is being done with it. Therefore, putting the pressure on the government to create the right framework to gain trust and understanding of how powerful data can be for the greater societal gains. As Danny mentioned, it is about moving away from the view of data gathering as being big brother style. 

Dennis added: “Other points to be considered include the groups that won't be able to join in on the data or no code revolution. 

“The minority I'm looking at, for instance, is the elderly, the ‘greying society’, who are maybe not that tech savvy.  

“These missing users are also very important to take into account as otherwise, not everyone is represented in the data.” 

Acceleration and innovation  

Dennis suggests that using SSI or MPC with blockchain distributed ledgers will actually help us in gaining control of who's using your data and how. But actually, it'll always be anonymised and that's important to creating good awareness. 

COVID-19 has forced innovation and acceleration the digital world with no code playing no small part in that, and as Zandra pointed out, we have a digital evolution of home working just as one example. 

Sue stated that infrastructure has been an important aspect, especially now during the global pandemic, many only having been digitally connected. And the sharing of data that can help towards the like of building ventilators during the crisis.  

How the government’s digital and data strategies can be aligned 

A really interesting point from Sue was “GDPR is the floor, not the ceiling, you know it's a starting point there is more you could do.” We should use the data from different areas to help those economies and industries that are suffering and how we can support them.  

So, the digital strategy is all about the power of data, in particular, around the growth of digital and tech in the economy and using that, to support growth. There's something called the integrated review, which is looking at data elements around security in the long run, and again, data has a part to play there. 

A culmination of our panellists’ thoughts and opinions will be fed into a conclusion document and, working closely with techUK and their members, we’ll add this to their written input on the proposals set out in the Strategy document and engaging with DCMS officials during the consultation period which closes on 2 December. 

If you want to have your say in where No Code and Low Code should sit in the national Data Strategy, get in touch.