Better use of data is key to more effective government. Across government, teams are doing fascinating work with data, on everything from policy to public services, from data sharing to visualisation, and from infrastructure to ethics.

But those projects often don’t get the attention they deserve. ‘Data’ means many different things across government and is fragmented across (and within) different organisations, professions, and functions. Those not working directly with data may not understand the benefits better information can bring.

Our Data Bites event series aims to change this. A monthly meet-up consisting of four quickfire presentations, Data Bites aims to:

- showcase interesting government data projects
- bring together those in and around government with in an interest in data
- demonstrate how better data can lead to more effective government.

Each presenter has just eight minutes against the clock, followed by eight minutes of questions.

Data Bites

Many of the public’s interactions with the state are with frontline officials in health and social care, policing and local government. How much do the Nolan principles resonate with those delivering public services? How can frontline officials be supported to make ethical decisions? And how can frontline organisations prevent failures, and rebuild public trust where they occur?

Speakers:

Neil Basu, former Assistant Commissioner, Metropolitan Police
Helen Buckingham, Chair of National Voices
Amerdeep Somal, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman

This session was chaired by Nick Davies, Programme Director at the Institute for Government.

How can frontline officials uphold high standards of behaviour?

Chaired by Emma Norris, Deputy Director of the Institute for Government.

This event was part of the IfG's conference on the The Nolan Principles at 30: What does the future hold for standards in public life?


Speech: Marie Goldman MP, Liberal Democrat shadow leader of the House of Commons

To conclude our conference on the Nolan Principles, our panel discussed the impact of the Nolan Principles in public life today. How have they changed the standards landscape in the UK? What do the public think about standards in public life? How useful are standards and principles to leaders in government? And how can a strong standards system support a government’s wider objectives?  

Speakers:  

Doug Chalmers, chair, Committee on Standards in Public Life
Chris Morris, CEO, Full Fact
Sachin Savur, researcher, Institute for Government
Rowena Mason, Whitehall Editor at the Guardian

This session was chaired by Tim Durrant, Programme Director at the Institute for Government  

What do the Nolan Principles mean today?

Back by popular demand, Hannah White, Paul Johnson and Anand Menon reunited on stage to record a special live episode of The Expert Factor – the podcast for people who haven’t had enough of experts.  

Nine years to the day since the UK voted to leave the EU, as the directors of three of the UK’s leading think tanks – the Institute for Government, the Institute for Fiscal Studies and UK in a Changing Europe – got together to discuss, explore and explain the big questions facing Keir Starmer’s Labour government and Britain’s opposition parties in an increasingly unpredictable world.

The event was held in partnership with UK in a Changing Europe.

The Expert Factor Live!

Productivity Pitches #7

Labour fought the 2024 general election on a manifesto which promised “a new way of doing government” – one built on the concept of mission-driven government. But how much has this government’s decisions, trade-offs and policy priorities really been shaped by its five missions? And how far have they been able to make progress on their priorities in the first year?

To mark the first year of Keir Starmer becoming prime minister, the Institute for Government and the Institute for Fiscal Studies hosted a joint event to explore what progress the government has made and whether Starmer’s government is really doing things differently to its predecessors.

Are the government’s missions realistic or do they lack ambition? Have Rachel Reeves’ tax and spending choices supported or hindered mission delivery? What did the spending review reveal about the government’s priorities? How could government be better structured – and decisions made – in a way that is more mission-driven? And one year on since the general election, can the government really say it is governing in a “new way”?

To explore these questions and more, the IfG and IFS brought together an expert panel featuring:

Stephen Bush, Associate Editor and columnist at the Financial Times
Helen Miller, Director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies
Dr Gemma Tetlow, Chief Economist at the Institute for Government
The event was chaired by Dr Hannah White, Director and CEO of the Institute for Government.

Labour’s first year in power: Is this still a mission-driven government?

IfG DevoLab #1: How devolution can address health inequalities

Inside Trump’s America: In conversation with Tim Ryan

Special advisers are a vital part of the glue that helps make government work effectively, and since July 2024 more than 100 spads have been appointed by Keir Starmer and his ministers. As well as experiencing the day-to-day challenges that come with one of the most intense jobs in Westminster, the new cohort has also faced ministerial churn, parliamentary rebellion and a change of No.10 chiefs of staff.

So how can special advisers be most effective in government? What are the challenges they face, and how can they deal with them? And how is the current cohort of spads faring in their difficult, and misunderstood, roles?  

To discuss how the spads of today (and tomorrow) can do the job well we were joined by:

Gabriel Pogrund, Whitehall Editor at the Sunday Times and co-author of Get In: The Inside Story of Labour Under Starmer
Salma Shah, Special Adviser to Sajid Javid (2014–19)
Sam White, Special Adviser to Alistair Darling (2004–10) and Chief of Staff to Keir Starmer (2021–22); Chair of Foundations: the national what works centre for children and families
The event was chaired by Tim Durrant, Programme Director at the Institute for Government.

Spads under Starmer: How can Labour’s special advisers do the job well?

Better use of data is key to more effective government. Across government, teams are doing fascinating work with data. But those projects don’t get the attention they deserve.

At this event, the third in our series, four organisations presented their data projects in an exciting, quickfire format. Each set of speakers had eight minutes, followed by eight minutes of questions from the audience.

We heard from:

William Priest, Chief Executive of the Geospatial Commission, on the work of the Commission
Andy Dudfield, Chief Publishing Officer at the Office for National Statistics, on data and the web
David Fry, Chief Statistician, and Luke Perera, Head of Data Science at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, on how data science has allowed the department to tackle old problems in new ways
Yvonne Gallagher, Director of Value for Money, Digital at the National Audit Office, on the challenges in using data in government.
This event was chaired by Gavin Freeguard, Programme Director and Head of Data and Transparency at the Institute for Government.

Data Bites #3: Getting things done with data in government

Better use of data is key to more effective government. Across government, teams are doing fascinating work with data. But those projects don’t get the attention they deserve.

At this event, the fourth in our Data Bites series, four organisations presented their data projects in an exciting, quickfire format. Each set of speakers has eight minutes, followed by eight minutes of questions from the audience.

We will hear from:

Catherine Bromley, Office for Statistics Regulation, on their expectations of statistics producers to fulfil the potential of data to serve the public good
Dr Jane Kennedy, Head of Research and Data Hub at the London Borough of Newham, on Newham’s Data Warehouse
Ganesh Senthi, Senior Product Manager, GOV.UK, on using machine learning to help users find content
Michael Birtwistle, Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation, on their AI Barometer
This event was chaired by Gavin Freeguard, Programme Director and Head of Data and Transparency at the Institute for Government.

We would like to thank the Office for Statistics Regulation for supporting this event.

Data Bites #4: Getting things done with data in government

Better use of data is key to more effective government. Across government, teams are doing fascinating work with data. But those projects don’t get the attention they deserve.

At this event, the fifth in our series, four organisations presented their data projects in an exciting, quickfire format. Each set of speakers had eight minutes, followed by eight minutes of questions from the audience.

We heard from:

Oli Vogel, Head of Recovery Performance at Indesser, on using data to identify vulnerable service users and treat them more fairly
Emma Gordon, Director, Strategic Hub at Administrative Data Research UK, on how government can make better use of administrative data for research
Graeme Thomson, Programme Director Counter Fraud (Data Analytics, Capability Development, and Pilots), Cabinet Office, on transforming capability in data and analytics to deal with public sector fraud
Sam Tazzyman, Head of Data Engineering and Analytical Platform, Ministry of Justice, on the future of data in the MoJ
This event was chaired by Gavin Freeguard, Programme Director and Head of Data and Transparency at the Institute for Government.

We would like to thank Equifax for supporting this event.

Data Bites #5: Getting things done with data in government

Better use of data is key to more effective government. Across government, teams are doing fascinating work with data. But those projects don’t get the attention they deserve.

At this event, the sixth in our series, our speakers presented their data projects in an exciting, quickfire format. Each set of speakers had eight minutes, followed by eight minutes of questions from the audience.

We heard from:

John Sheridan, Digital Director at The National Archives, on legislation as data - meeting the challenge of Brexit
Dr Natalie Byrom, Director of Research and Learning at The Legal Education Foundation, on Digital Justice: HMCTS data strategy and delivering access to justice
Adam Locker, Data Architect at the Food Standards Agency, on fix the plumbing: a user’s guide
Ben Coleman, Data Analytics Lead at the National Audit Office, on the NAO’s Data Service – a local solution to the problems caused by inconsistent government data releases
This event was chaired by Gavin Freeguard, Programme Director and Head of Data and Transparency at the Institute for Government.

We would like to thank The Legal Education Foundation for supporting this event.

Data Bites #6: Getting things done with data in government

Better use of data is key to more effective government. Across government, teams are doing fascinating work with data. But those projects don’t get the attention they deserve.

At this event, the seventh in our series, our speakers presented their data projects in an exciting, quickfire format. Each set of speakers had eight minutes, followed by eight minutes of questions from the audience.

In November, we heard from:

Miranda Sharp, innovation director at Ordnance Survey, on Geospatial’s role in better citizen outcomes
Nic Granger, director of corporate at the Oil and Gas Authority, on Digital Excellence – using data as a catalyst for creating economic value
David Kane, product lead at 360 Giving, on the potential of charity data
Miranda Marcus, research & development programme lead at the Open Data Institute, on using open and shared data to improve local public services
This event was chaired by Gavin Freeguard, programme director and head of data and transparency at the Institute for Government.

We would like to thank the Ordnance Survey for supporting this event.

Data Bites #7: Getting things done with data in government

The leading think tank working to make UK government more effective. 

Stay up to date with all of our commentary, analysis and events by visiting our website and subscribing to our newsletter.

Data Bites #5: Getting things done with data in government

Institute for Government

Related tracks