How Effective Will Consulting the Public on Digital Strategy be?

The Scottish Government’s Data and Intelligence Network (DIN) has set up a pilot public engagement panel on the use of public sector data. Housing Industry Leaders explores the importance of involving people in data policy decisions.

The project will run with Research Data Scotland and Digital Health and Care Scotland to assess perceptions of how personal data is used and create a blueprint for a panel that would be sustainable in the long term.

Engagement experts are also showing their support for public engagement on these projects, with Sciencewise, Ipsos Scotland, Navigator Consulting and the University of Edinburgh all involved.

Curbing NIMBY Mentality Will Boost Growth of Digital Data for the Public Sector

With hopes that this will curb the NIMBY mentality surrounding the implementation of digital technology, other local authorities will be eagerly awaiting the findings of the engagement panel and will be sure to follow in the Scottish Government’s DIN network.

Beginning with a pilot, the panel consists of 30 citizens and aims to reflect the Scottish population in terms of age, gender, ethnic background, location and socioeconomic status. This will help generalise the information collected from the smaller groups to help make better decisions for Scottish citizens.

Understanding Issues People Have is Essential to Effective Policy Decisions

The core workshops will be: understanding data protection and ethics, the risks and benefits of past projects, acceptable uses of data and recommendations on ethical data for DIN, and testing and refining the principles by applying them to ongoing projects.

In a report set to be published in spring 2023, the findings will be analysed and summarised, and recommendations will be given based on public consultations. In addition, panellists’ feedback on ongoing projects will be shared with the project owners.