Smart Data Foundry, based in Edinburgh, has unveiled its inaugural board as it accelerates its mission to unlock the power of financial data to drive innovation and solve big societal issues.

As a data innovation organisation serving the public, private, and third sector, Smart Data Foundry’s purpose is to inspire financial innovation and improve people’s lives by unlocking the power of financial data.

Joining Chair Dame Julia Unwin and Chief Executive Officer Frank Gauld, the board is drawn from government, industry and academia bringing their experience across data and financial services.

Joining the board are:

• Zachery Anderson, Chief Data Officer, NatWest Group
• Professor Kim Graham, Provost, University of Edinburgh
• Stephen Ingeldrew OBE, FinTech Scotland
• Fiona Duncan, Independent Advisor, the Promise
• Professor Chris Speed, Director, Edinburgh Futures Institute

Formerly the Global Open Finance Centre of Excellence, the Smart Data Foundry was founded in September 2020 with initial funding of £23m from the UK government through the UK Research and Innovation’s (UKRI) flagship Strength in Places Fund.

Fund. Based in Edinburgh, the not-for-profit has delivered a number of  data projects in collaboration with financial institutions including research into the impact of Covid-19 and the cost-of-living crisis on the over-50s.

Dame Julia Unwin commented: “Our mission to unlock the power of data has struck a chord with leading figures in academia and Financial Services so much so they have been motivated to join us and bring about change.

“We have demonstrated that we can work collaboratively to create clarity through data which can inform policies and decision-making.”

Zachery Anderson, Chief Data Officer NatWest Group, commented on the new appointment after NatWest was the first bank to partner with the Foundry: “Data helps us make better decisions and power research into areas that complement the wider NatWest purpose to champion potential, helping people, families and businesses to thrive.”

Stephen Ingledew OBE, Chair, FinTech Scotland added: “Scotland has one of the fastest growing Fintech clusters in the UK, if not the world.

“Essential to financial innovation is the ability to access and share data, and the groundbreaking work that Smart Data Foundry is leading to create synthetic data unlocks the huge opportunities to inspire financial innovation that will benefit so many consumers and businesses.”

Balancing out the commercial experience of Anderson and Ingledew is the academic expertise of Professor Kim Graham and Professor Chris Speed.

“The ethos of the Edinburgh Futures Institute (EFI) is to challenge, create and make change happen,” explained EFI director Professor Speed.

“We have a purpose to pursue knowledge and understanding that supports the navigation of complex futures. So, the fit with Smart Data Foundry is perfect as they continue to challenge the way research is done and how they create synthetic data out of thin air to drive innovation.”

Professor Kim Graham welcomes the opportunity to work with Smart Data Foundry and the board to leverage talent and history of the University of Edinburgh to support the Smart Data Foundry’s mission to tackle the cost-of-living crisis.

“We have a world class reputation and standing for being a research-intensive institution,” Graham said of the University. “Working with Smart Data Foundry can only continue to propel us forward and enhance our reputation as one of the top five universities in the UK for research power.”

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Helping to improve people’s lives is core to Smart Data Foundry’s purpose and chimes with Scottish Government Strategic Advisor Fiona Duncan’s 20 years of experience working in the voluntary sector in Scotland and overseas.

“This will demand Scotland takes a different approach to how it thinks about data, moving beyond ‘system’ measures to what the data is telling us and what really matters to the people,” Duncan said. “My current role as Independent Strategic Advisor to #KeepThePromise is a perfect fit with the ambitions of Smart Data Foundry. I look forward to using my experience and connections in government to help Smart Data Foundry improve people’s lives by unlocking the power of data.”

The new board members will work with Smart Data Foundry CEO Frank Gauld, who joined the organisation in 2022.

Frank Gauld said “This marks an important milestone in our history. As a young and growing business, to have the ability to attract such a talented board tells me we’re on the right track. 2022 was a year characterised by delivery for Smart Data Foundry.

“Our ground-breaking work with the FCA to generate and supply synthetic data to support their work to tackle the growing problem of Approved Push Payment (APP) Fraud is a great example of how we’re inspiring innovation in Financial Services.

“And we continued to support UK Government with a regularly updated COVID Economic Dashboard, creating an enduring record of how consumers saved, spent and earned before, during and after a pandemic. This level of insight is critical for policymakers to make decisions based on large-scale empirical data, no longer having to depend on survey data.”

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