Information Sheet for Data Owners
Updated 26 April 2024
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Share this information with your department’s Data Owners in order to designate, and agree the metadata for, your department’s Essential Shared Data Assets.
The government is committed to being more data driven to improve public services and understand the effects of its policies and programmes.
To do this, it must:
- understand what its most important data assets are
- ensure clarity and consistency in how data assets are managed
- realise the full value of data assets by making them findable and, when appropriate, reusable across government
Why we’re reaching out to you
We’ve identified you as a person that’s responsible for decisions around a key data asset in our department.
We believe it’s a key asset because it meets the criteria for an Essential Shared Data Asset (ESDA).
ESDAs are a new concept and process for government data. They represent the most critical data assets within a cross-government context – either because other departments already rely on them, or because their potential reuse could have significant value to deliver essential operations.
We’re asking for your help. Please confirm whether you’re happy to:
- designate this data asset as an ESDA
- accept the accountabilities of the government’s Data Owner role, which includes recognising data as a valuable resource and ensuring that it’s effectively governed and managed throughout its lifecycle
- work with us to agree and maintain the information about the data asset (metadata) that describes this ESDA
The importance of ESDAs
Departments already have their own ‘critical data assets’ – the data assets that are most important to each department for delivering its core services.
In contrast, ESDAs are the data assets that are critical to how government departments work together – for example, to deliver public services, develop policy or for national security, defence or resilience purposes.
We need to ensure ESDAs are properly invested in, protected and considered strategically to unlock their value.
This is why ESDAs are essential to the Data Marketplace.
What is the Data Marketplace?
The Central Digital and Data Office, part of the Cabinet Office, is creating a new platform to enable UK government departments to share data with one another more easily, when it’s legally and ethically appropriate to do so.
Data sharing requests typically take several months. Using the Data Marketplace will speed up this process, making data sharing across government more effective and helping the government deliver its commitments.
Metadata about your ESDA(s) will be included in a cross-government data catalogue within the Data Marketplace.
We appreciate this will take all of us some time, but the benefits of us doing this exercise will benefit the whole of government.
All central government departments are taking this crucial step to make it easier for civil servants to find and potentially access vital data they need for delivery and decision-making.