Research by data consultancy Profusion has revealed that the vast majority of UK business leaders are struggling to use data ethically within their organisations.

The research follows the launch of Profusion’s Good Data Guide in partnership with Pinsent Masons LLP, which provides a practical framework for how organisations can use data ethically.

Profusion surveyed 200 business leaders at medium-large British companies to find a lack of training and education is hindering an ethical use of their data.

Despite 79% of surveyed businesses declaring that they wanted to address data ethics challenges, only 31% stated it was among their top three governance priorities.

When asked what the biggest barriers to addressing data ethics were, 36% said lack of internal knowledge and expertise, 31% cited a lack of training and 30% a lack of perceived relevance.

One in four said they were concerned that innovation was being held back by a lack of ethical and regulatory understanding.

Of the 83% of businesses that said they felt formally uncomfortable with how their organisation used data, 9% said it was a daily occurrence, 25% weekly and 16% monthly.

33% said they feared their algorithms were not being scrutinised for issues such as bias.

Natalie Cramp, CEO of data consultancy Profusion, said: “It is shocking, but also unsurprising, that so many businesses feel morally uncomfortable about how they use data.

“There is little practical guidance available with data ethics often presented as a complex philosophy rather than a set of practical policies, KPIs and guardrails businesses can adopt. We hope to take a step forward in solving this problem with the Good Data Guide.

“We’ve been lucky to collaborate with experts from a range of specialties and industries to address a number of issues and give organisations, big and small, the tools they need to make ethical decisions around how they use their data now and in the future.

“Our hope is this becomes a ‘living document’ with organisations contributing to it and sharing best practice as they encounter new ethical challenges.”

Sue Chadwick, Strategic and Digital Advisor, Pinsent Masons, said: “The Good Data Guide is distinguished by the range of contributors, the simplicity of its approach, and the commitment to remain agile and open to changes in law, guidance, or society.

“The Guide recognises that technology develops quickly, while the law moves comparatively slowly, so we need to go beyond compliance to achieve ethical data use.”

The survey revealed more in-depth findings regarding business’s positions on ethics.

Only 16% of businesses said that data ethics was the responsibility of their CEO/MD – this increased to 29% for companies with more than 1,000 employees.

Still, this slim percentage begs the question on who is responsible for data ethics within an organisation if not the leaders?

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The survey also touched on diversity, with only 36% of business leaders saying that diversity within their data team was ‘very good’ with a further 51% stating it was ‘somewhat good.’

As these percentages only reflect perceptions rather than actual numbers, it is difficult to ascertain the actual amount of diversity on data teams.

Diverse teams can help alleviate inherent bias in data analysis which can often be exacerbated by algorithms.

Diversity and inclusion (41%) was one of the top three priorities cited by businesses, as well as cybersecurity (42%) and risk management (41%).