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Global Ethics Day: some highlights

close-up on a screen full of binary numbers. A red heart is highlighted in the middle

A few interesting and useful things from our Share National event

If you were in London with us, and there’s something missing from the list … let us know.


Code of Practice for Statistics
Sets the standards that producers of official statistics should commit to

Resource Hub Collection: Digital Ethics

The Seven Principles of Public Life (also known as the Nolan Principles) apply to anyone who works as a public office-holder.

Ethics – is it a risky business?
Rehena Ramesh, Head of Digital Transformation, London Borough of Brent

Brent Digital Strategy 2022-26
Brent Open Data Portal
ODI Learning: courses and training

https://theodi.org/article/the-data-ethics-canvas-2021/

A few key slides:

Keep it Simple. Image of a question mark: The data collected - the who, what, where, how Image of a thumbs up: Impact on subjects - both positive and negative Image of a group of people: How we are engaging withy the citizens and data users Image of a bar chart: The process through which we'll aggregate and analyse the data
Keep it simple
Ask yourself * intended and unintended consequences? * positive consequences we want to focus on? * consequences we want to mitigate?
Ask yourself
Call to arms * Intent and Impact * Start small * Learn * Build trust and confident * Just do the right thing
Call to arms

The key takeaway was probably one of Rehana’s final comments, “You’re not going to solve this on your own.”

Workshop 1 How to use and interpret data to support social value/progress
Sue Daley, Director of Technology and Innovation, techUK

Some highlights:

  • Sue’s team were “awesome”
  • Sue did comment that a data standard for local government would be welcome and useful
  • Some of the keywords and themes:
  • Access to data (and in legacy systems)
  • Empower people to ask for access and additional data
  • Data is not held in an “IT room” but it does need to be de-siloed

Workshop 2 What are the key components ​of ethical digital leadership?
William Barker, Associate Director, Socitm

Some highlights:

  • Language is key – different groups of people use different words.
  • Different approaches from different generations
  • Standardise rather than prescriptive
  • Commonality
  • Data quality. Rubbish data = rubbish decision
  • Ethics is complicated

Workshop 3 What are the key components that need to be in place to support an ethical approach to cyber resilience ​and sustainability?
Kurt Frary, Deputy Director of IMT/CTO, Norfolk County Council

Some highlights:

  • Cyber resilience is a business problem not an IT problem
  • Ethics boards are a good idea for all organisations
  • Have you really deleted that data?! There is a statutory obligation to delete data. But is hanging around on a spreadsheet on a hard drive somewhere?

Evidence based decision-making to improve the lives of our residents
Yogita Popat, Assistant Director of Sustainability and Insight, London Borough of Barnet

Why experience is the new battlefield for IT
Nigel Martin, CRO, Hornbill

Read the report of the presentation: Digital Transformation: Experience is the new battlefield

Panel session: Ethical use of data

Dave Sanderson, Director of Member Services, Socitm (Chair)
Paul Withers, Data Protection Manager, Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council
Dr Mahlet (Milly) Zimeta, Head of Public Policy, Open Data Institute
Nick Chapallaz , Managing Director, GeoPlace 

Further reading mentioned during the conversations and questions:

The future for our children
Michael Litterick, Innovation and Insight Lead Consultant, Socitm Advisory

Authors to go in search of:

You might also like this podcast about chatbots: Cautionary Tales – the online date that’s too good to be true