Helping DSIT lay foundations for a best-inclass data strategy

Established in February 2023, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) is responsible for driving innovation to help improve public services, create new better-paid jobs in emerging sectors, and grow the economy. As a ministerial department, they work with sixteen agencies and public bodies, and oversee £13bn investment in infrastructure, innovation and research.
Download Case Study
  • DSIT uses a wide range of data to understand growth and change in emerging tech-sectors in the UK, and the digital infrastructure needed to support our economy. This data provides critical insight into the impact of government intervention and ensures that investment can be targeted in the most effective way.
  • As a newly formed department, DSIT’s inherited data landscape consisted of fragmented data and siloed platforms from legacy organisations.
  • DSIT’s ambition is to adopt a best-in-class approach to data management to lay the foundations for excellence in advanced analysis for policy making.
  • 1
    We appointed an expert adviser to lead a department-wide data discovery and data governance review. This work was carried out between January and April 2024.
  • 2
    As a former senior civil servant, Triad’s expert had a record of delivering data strategy and governance in complex data environments within the public sector.
  • 3
    We led the data discovery team, providing oversight and guidance on effective approaches to achieving DSIT’s data management goals.
  • The discovery team created a data inventory which captured in one place the full range of data the analysts were using.
  • We identified opportunities for efficiencies in data acquisition, and a prioritised set of improvements to their data platform to reduce friction in analytical processes and free up resource.
  • We recommended a suite of actions to take forward through their data strategy, including foundational data governance work and the evolution of their data culture to move them towards their ambition of being at the cutting edge of data exploitation in government.

Their story

Formed in 2023, DSIT began operating using a fragmented data landscape consisting of inherited data and data platforms from legacy organisations.
A desire to lead from the front

With ministerial responsibility for science, innovation, and technology, DSIT aspire to being the leading edge in government use of data for analysis and policy making.

The need for a new data strategy

DSIT was keen to understand and consolidate its existing data and infrastructure as a first step towards a best-in-class data strategy.

Investing in data

With clarity on its data landscape, DSIT can better support the work of its analytical teams, and super-charge its data science capabilities.

Establishing data expertise within DSIT

Our work has created a foundation to help deliver DSIT’s ambition of leading the UK government when it comes to using data to drive analysis and policy making.

“Triad’s expert played a pivotal role in ensuring the data discovery met the department’s needs. They brought a depth of understanding in how government operates with a strength of knowledge of government data, and gave us the confidence they could deliver the outcomes we were after with limited guidance… This is rare.”