Data needs to be a national asset, rather than a burden, Audit Scotland says in a new blog post. 

The claim follows a roundtable hosted by the organisation with representatives from the public sector and academia. 

The roundtable deemed Scotland’s current data landscape as ‘a bit of a mess.’

Data is a vital tool in solving any issue, the blog contends, and we’ve just seen its importance in the pandemic. 

Population and hospital data was essential for the vaccine roll out and to keep track of the spread of Covid-19, as well as keeping track of hospitalisations and staff shortages across the NHS. 

Still, data was missing from the overall Covid-19 response, as it was impossible to analyse how effectively funding was dispensed to businesses due to a lack of follow-up statistics. 

Gemma Diamond, the Audit Director, Performance Audit and Best Value, who wrote the blog post, lamented on data being reported, but not used to tackle Scotland’s problems. 

Public sector bodies often struggle to secure the evidence and data they need to study the effectiveness of spending strategies and other policies. 

Barriers often include a lack of digital skills, non-centralised data systems and standards, as well as the perceived difficulty and expense of collecting data. 

Data needs to be seen as a “key to better policy decisions” in Scotland, Diamond wrote.

Audit Scotland called for bold decisions to address the gap, listing their recommendations for national and local governments. 

Weeding out duplication of data was of primary importance, this means resources can be used to focus on preventative measures and data required to tackle Scotland’s biggest problems. 

Building data skills and creating a data culture across public bodies is also essential. 

In a recent study by techUK, Scotland ranked 6th in digital skills across the UK, but glaring regional discrepancies were also found. 

Diamond acknowledged that these radical movements will require investment and resources, and priorities may have to realign. 

Scotland should be well geared to tackle this data gap, Diamond assured – as a small country, Scotland can capitalise on collaboration, especially with universities and the private sector to advance best practice. 

Audit Scotland provides guidance for how they can lessen the data gap. Adopting common data standards, making data discoverable, and creating a ‘collaborative culture’ to use the data are some of the aims. 

Creating a national data commitment was a priority on the national level, as well as prioritising data skills and infrastructure. 

Parts of Scotland are behind with regards to its digital infrastructure, especially rural regions, potentially widening this gap and making local government action even more vital.  

Developing a data culture for everyone, not just data experts, investing in data skills, and focusing on data that will address important issues were local level priorities for the public sector. 

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Some general considerations Diamond noted in the blog were concerns over data harvesting from the public, urging for transparency in how data is collected and used. 

“People need to trust and understand what is happening with data and how decisions are being made,” Diamond wrote. 

Public sector leaders are urged to make their current data capabilities clear so collaboration can occur, and larger issues in Scotland can be addressed. 

“What we do know,” Diamond wrote, “is that when public bodies get data right it can make difficult things easier.” 

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