We now understand our current data maturity state. We have reflected on the public consultation feedback, and we have developed a view of the role that we want data to play in the ICO in the future. This has allowed us to centre on a vision, four guiding principles, and two overarching goals.
Our vision
“The ICO will be an exemplar of responsible innovation using data. Data and insight will maximise our impact, guide all our work and accelerate our transformation.”
We believe this vision aligns well with our wider purpose to “empower you through information”.
In order to deliver this, we recognise the need to set some principles to guide our actions and behaviours, building a strong and sustainable data culture. These principles tackle critical challenges and outline important aspects of our approach that match our ambitious vision.
Our principles
We democratise
Data is everyone’s job. We share data internally and externally, appropriately. We invest in data literacy for all our people, and in creating rewarding careers for our data professionals.
We dignify
Our use of data doesn't take agency and control from people. It empowers them to do their best and most valuable work, freeing them up from the routine through intelligent automation. It shapes how we understand and serve our customers.
We're disciplined
We put the effort in to make sure our data is high quality, structured and available. We seek out data and insights to inform critical decisions from the get-go. We apply sensible mitigations to data risks.
We're daring
We innovate with data, challenging our in-built tendency to take the safest path.
Our goals
In order for us to deliver our vision, we also identified two overarching goals to:
- measurably grow our data maturity; and
- deliver tangible value from data and analytics for the ICO and its customers.
Our two goals sit at the foundation of our implementation plan for 2024/25, where our intended activities and outputs serve to contribute positively to them.