“I’ve never been as inspired and energised about the topic of data standards as I have been today with this fantastic group of people!” – Shelley Heckman on LinkedIn

Context

In late 2023 I was approached by Shelley Heckman of iStandUK to facilitate an away day of it’s Executive Board in London in March 2024.

The mission of iStandUK is to promote Data Standards that support efficiency, transformation, and transparency of local public services in the UK. The Executive Board includes representatives from local authorities, government departments and other representative groups such as the LGA, SOCITM and TechUK. The Board serves as both a programme board and a leadership forum for collaboration across the local public sector.

The March away day was to build on another just held in December, which had been an opportunity for the Board to start exploring a strategic approach to digital standards for local public services.

At that first meeting the group had looked at the question ‘what are the specific needs and ambitions of public services that could be addressed by standards?’ A visioning exercise followed, which allowed the group to explore what would be the impact of data standards being implemented across all public sector organisations in a way that creates the most impact. The group then explored what would be necessary from our group to achieve the collective vision. The day culminated with a number of action commitments, including to create a specification for a data standards business case for the UK local public sector.

Aims

In conversation with Shelley, Board Chair Phil Swan and Programme Director Paul Davidson, the aims of the March away day were agreed to be as follows:

To build on the conversation started at the December away day, to articulate what we are ready to commit to in relation to:

• • building a vehicle that supports interoperable standards across local government at a national level, what it might look like and the way forward to get there,
  • commissioning a scoping exercise for a vehicle for data standards, and the draft Specification paper,
  • iStandUK and its future, as that vehicle and/or otherwise.

To build upon the collective sense of the importance and urgency of interoperable data standards for the sector that was recognised in December, and to build commitment to influence budget holders to invest funds in a standards body.

Methodology and approach

For this assignment, I proposed to draw on the following of ICA’s Technology of Participation (ToP) methods in particular:

The Focused Conversation method provides a structured, four-level process for effective communication which ensures that everyone in a group has the opportunity to participate.

The Consensus Workshop method is a five-stage process that incorporates Focused Conversation for effective communication and that enables a facilitator to draw out and weave together everybody’s wisdom into a clear consensus.

Agenda & process

Feedback and impact

Participants’ on-site feedback included:

• Open and collaborative atmosphere
• Energy and commitment from everyone
• Great collaboration, great networking, great outcomes
• Made more progress than I would have expected in time available
• We got a better output than I expected
• Excellent facilitation

Shelley wrote soon afterwards on LinkedIn:

I’ve never been as inspired and energised about the topic of data standards as I have been today with this fantastic group of people!

The iStandUK Executive Board met in London to talk ambitiously about our collective commitment to data standards for public services.

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