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Data governance: Terms of reference

The project seeks to:

  • Identify the communities with interests in the governance of data and its uses, but which may be considering these issues in different contexts and with varied aims and assumptions, in order to facilitate dialogue between these communities. These include academia, industry and the public sector.
  • Clarify where there are connections between different debates, identifying shared issues and common questions, and help to develop a common framework and shared language for debate. 
  • Identify which social, ethical and governance challenges arise in the context of developments in data use.
  • Set out the public interests at stake in governance of data and its uses, and the relationships between them, and how the principles of responsible research and innovation (RRI) apply in the context of data use. 
  • Make proposals for the UK to establish a sustained and flexible platform for debating issues of data governance, developing consensus about future legal and technical frameworks, and ensuring that learning and good practice spreads as fast as possible.

Who will inform this project?

This project is guided by a working group.

The project will also be informed by a call for evidence, focused on priority issues relating to data governance, and case studies of governance systems and activities.

What will come out of the project?

The project will report in 2017, with a series of recommendations, detailed case studies and an analysis of the social, legal and ethical issues that are central to the governance of data and its uses.