Kyle Winterbottom welcomes back Amy Smith, now the UK government's chief data officer after about 25 years in law enforcement, including as director of data for the Metropolitan Police Service.1:09
Smith says she left policing because investment in data did not match the talk about AI, and that government adds the complexity of many entities with their own budgets moving from a centralized to a federated model.3:52
She has rebuilt the Chief Data Officer Council into sector clusters tied to a strategic data roadmap, and argues the biggest culprit for poor data sharing is culture and risk appetite, fixed by changing how budgets reward data as a strategic asset.9:56
She wants the most valuable 20% of data treated like critical national infrastructure, frames sovereignty around data rather than hyperscalers, and has narrowed the National Data Library's first phase to a gateway to open data.19:39
On AI she uses it as a Trojan horse for data, owns the responsible AI guidelines, and plans to judge success by citizen outcomes and a cross-government data valuation service within 12 to 24 months.36:58
Brief overview
Data sharing across UK government is blocked by culture, risk appetite and incentives, not technology.
Culture and risk appetite block data sharingSmith says sharing is far more possible legislatively than people believe, but incentives are not aligned.
Treat strategic data like critical national infrastructureDefine the most valuable data, put rules around it, and fund the asset, not the department.
Measure value by citizen outcomesUse cases such as more young people in education, employment or training are what she wants to point to.
Questions this recording answers
4 questions, each answered where it is said
Why is data sharing across UK government so difficult?
Amy Smith says the biggest culprit is culture and risk appetite, linked to ownership and what people are rewarded for. Legislation is complicated, but sharing is far more possible than people believe; departments hold back because sharing benefits others while they pay to maintain the data.
Answered around 16:56How does the UK chief data officer plan to fix the incentive problem?
By changing how finance and budgets work: setting principles with the treasury for digital, data and AI bids in the next spending review, writing a strategic paper on enterprise investment, and treating the most valuable data as critical national infrastructure with investment tied to the data asset rather than the department.
Answered around 18:11What is the National Data Library?
A manifesto pledge that had three ministers with different ideas of its purpose. Its first phase is narrowed to a user-friendly gateway to the open data government and public sector should publish, grouped by area such as education and health. It is not a big system or data lake.
Answered around 31:42How will Amy Smith measure whether her work is succeeding?
By outcomes for citizens from use cases, such as more young people in education, employment and training in the Liverpool region. She also plans a deputy director for data value covering commercialization, valuation and use, aiming for a cross-government data valuation service in 12 to 24 months.
Answered around 47:07
Key Quote
“It's culture and it's risk appetite.”
— Amy Smith, UK Government Chief Data Officer Insights, at 17:02▶ listen at 17:02
Key Quote
“I'm sick of being Mrs. Compliance.”
— Amy Smith, UK Government Chief Data Officer Insights, at 29:46▶ listen at 29:46
Key Quote
“I've used AI as my Trojan horse”
— Amy Smith, UK Government Chief Data Officer Insights, at 37:02▶ listen at 37:02
Key Quote
“organization doesn't adopt AI, people do, and you need a mass of people to do that.”
— Amy Smith, UK Government Chief Data Officer Insights, at 44:28▶ listen at 44:28
Key Quote
“It's only valuable when it's being used.”
— Amy Smith, UK Government Chief Data Officer Insights, at 49:46▶ listen at 49:46
Cite this
“UK Government Chief Data Officer Insights.” https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/785fefd0-5670-4849-b4ff-f824322f2628.mp3. Transcript summary by WhipScribe, https://whipscribe.com/transcript-pages/uk-government-chief-data-officer-insights.html.