As Voluntary, Community & Social Enterprise (VCSE) Crown Representative, Claire Dove CBE acts as an intermediary between government and the charity and social enterprise sectors to champion the Social Value Act and secure an improvement in commissioning practices. As a key player in the social enterprise movement for over 40 years she brings a wealth of experience to the role. In this blog, Claire explains why engaging charities and social enterprises in government supply chains is so important, and how DCMS is leading the way by creating the first bespoke commercial VCSE Action Plan. Thro ..read more

It has been one year since the creation of the National Data Strategy Forum, and we are pausing to reflect on its achievements; as well as sharing some insights from our latest event – the NDS Forum webinar on Public Attitudes to Data and AI.  What is the NDS Forum? The Forum is a collaborative network co-chaired by DCMS and Sue Daley, Director of Tech and Innovation at techUK.  It is open for anyone to participate, and exists to ensure that a diverse range of perspectives beyond government and the public sector continue to inform the implementation of the National Data Strategy. Fo ..read more

In May 2022 two new research projects were awarded Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) funding to explore key DCMS policy areas. This will fund two academics, through a short term funded research opportunity called a fellowship. The research fellowships have been established as part of DCMS’ Chief Scientific Advisor Office’s aim to build stronger links between academia and government in using evidence to inform government policy. Both academics will work with policy officials and conduct research, leading to outputs including academic papers, presentations and blogs. Dr. Susan Oman is ..read more

The Poet Laureate, Simon Armitage, published his tribute to Queen Elizabeth II in the form of a new poem, following her death on Thursday 8th September 2022. “Floral Tribute” mentions one of the Queen’s favourite flowers, the lily of the valley. They appeared in her wedding and coronation bouquets. Floral Tribute Evening will come, however determined the late afternoon, Limes and oaks in their last green flush, pearled in September mist. I have conjured a lily to light these hours, a token of thanks, Zones and auras of soft glare framing the brilliant globes. A promise made and kept for life ..read more

The National Data Strategy sets out how we will ensure the UK can harness data to fuel innovation and growth, and create jobs across the country to boost the economy. The Strategy recognises it is important for everyone leaving our schools and universities to be better prepared for data-driven lives and careers.  Working together The Higher Education sector has a vital role to play in achieving this aim. Our Strategy tasked the sector to explore ways to teach a range of basic and technical data skills– including project management, governance and problem solving. To improve the teaching ..read more

  The Commonwealth Games are one of the world’s mega sports events, the third largest in the world, superseded only by the Olympic and Paralympic Games in terms of size and scale. Having attended four Olympic Games and three Commonwealth Games since 2002 in multiple capacities, I can honestly say, we are in for a spectacular summer of sport and culture and with Birmingham 2022 (B2022) only a week away, we cannot wait! 72 nations and territories, 19 sports, 14,000 volunteers, 6,500 athletes, over 1.2million tickets and a global TV audience of 1.5billion, will truly put Birmingham and the ..read more

Data now underpins and reflects practically all economic sectors and social activities. It is no surprise therefore that policy-making, at local, national, and international levels, also critically relies on data. The UK’s National Data Strategy provides an example of how countries are seeking to leverage data for economic growth and societal well-being while ensuring appropriate protections for the flow of data across sectoral and geographic boundaries. Datasphere Initiative As data becomes ubiquitous, its governance becomes increasingly intricate, requiring a new and holistic approach to da ..read more

Data is a cross cutting policy area – the delivery of policies and initiatives associated with maximising the power of data will have implications for organisations and individuals across the UK.  With the launch of the UK National Data Strategy (NDS) in September 2020, we have been working hard to implement each of the missions set out within the strategy. As part of this, it has been (and continues to be) crucial that we work closely with each of the devolved governments to deliver the NDS, alongside their own strategies and plans, and through that achieve the best possible outcomes for ..read more

On 24 March, Sue Daley, co-chair, National Data Strategy (NDS) Forum, and Bethan Charnley, Head of the National Data Strategy Implementation (NDSI) team, DCMS co-hosted the first NDS Forum Network Group session.   The aim of the Forum Network Group is to provide a regular way to brief network organisations on key priorities of the NDS Forum and how they can get involved. The priority areas we discussed at this session included:  A pilot project to map the data ecosystem  National Data Strategy Mission 1 policy framework events Mapping the data ecosystem pilot:   The ..read more

In September 2020, the National Data Strategy set out the government’s ambition to unlock the power of data.  Taking advantage of the data opportunity is a key challenge for the UK, as it impacts across all of our lives in so many ways and has the potential to make a real difference. Government can not succeed in tackling this challenge alone, and so we have been working with partners from across the economy and society to bring our vision to life.  One of the ways in which we have done this recently was through our recent call for evidence to develop an indicator suite that can help ..read more