“Collaboration” and “trust” were recurrent themes at the September 2024, TechUK’s Building the Smarter State and Think Digital Partners’ Think Data for Government conferences, when describing the future of data throughout central government departments in ten years’ time.

Although these words came from a place of positivity, there seemed to be an air of ambivalence whenever they were uttered.

Collaboration is currently an area of focus and emphasis for many departments wanting to work together through cross-departmental and local government channels. But this has proved difficult due to the multi-government and local government complexities already in place, such as individual data sharing policies and different software and systems used in each department. So, what can the Government do to mitigate this?

Data sharing and building trust

Speaking at Tech UK’s Building the Smarter State, Gill Stewart, chief digital officer for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) acknowledged that this “is not the most optimal way of sharing data” while stressing the need for security and streamlining the sharing of that data into a positive move “by building trust”.

Meanwhile, Karl Hoods, chief digital and information officer at the Department for Energy, Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), opined that “continuous investment in improving digital transformation will diffuse that distrust and bring forth a duty of working together collectively rather than separately.”

A collaboration and trust disconnect

However, for departments to collaborate and work collectively, rather than separately, requires trust, and currently there seems to be a huge lack of it. So, what’s stopping departments from achieving that trust?

Calls for greater trust between organisations and departments were made at each conference. However, a lack of trust between the public and government was highlighted as a bigger challenge. An example of this is the need for the public to be better informed of how their data will be shared and for what purpose, so that they aren’t shocked by secret deals between departments for uses other than what was agreed.

Treating the public’s data with respect while upping their level of data literacy would be excellent ways of building trust, reminding us that it’s not just the role and responsibility of the data professional that counts, but our own individual role and responsibility within that process. Gavin Freeguard – a data expert at the Open Data Institute, policy associate at Connected by Data, and associate at the Institute for Government speaking at Think Data for Government- argued that “involving the public about what we do with data elevates the political decisions, the benefits of data, and the need to take those conversations beyond the realm of spreadsheets and databases”.

Data is imperative to our modern world and is crucial to Labour’s mission-led government. Increased sharing of health data, for example will see reductions in NHS waiting times, while fraud will be reduced should the likes of HMRC, DWP, and the Home Office come together as a collective to share and use their data. But only for the right purposes.

The Rt. Hon. Lord Maude of Horsham, described as “an architect of the last ten years” before beginning his speech, called for “more government transparency and cultural change with further recommendations for a more functional framework rather than the more common siloed framework we currently see.” And with those changes comes the need for investment.

Collaboration – there’s a long way to go

Rob Anderson, Chief Analyst at GlobalData Public Sector, asked panellists at TechUK’s conference about the incoming spending reviews and how that will facilitate change and digital transformation to support a mission-led government – and to essentially facilitate that collaboration and trust.

Unfortunately, there wasn’t any conclusive nor substantive answer given – none worth writing here, anyway. Which tells us that there is still a long way to go for true collaboration and trust to take place and become part and parcel of all governmental departments and organisations.