The making of the Government Data Maturity Model

Better identifying data challenges and opportunities, and effectively planning targeted improvements

Over the past two years, the Government Data Quality Hub (DQHub), based in the Office for National Statistics (ONS), have been working to design, build, and test a single Data Maturity Model (DMM) for government. This work supports Mission 3 of the National Data Strategy, helping to transform government’s use of data for better public services. By understanding their data maturity, organisations across the public sector can better identify their data challenges and opportunities, and effectively plan targeted improvements.

The project drew on a cross-government working group and data subject matter experts from across the public sector to create a maturity model that would be truly fit for use across all of government. We also collaborated closely with the Central Digital and Data Office (CDDO), based in Cabinet Office, who will be leading the next stages of the project and be rolling out the model for the future.

In this article, we briefly overview how DQHub developed the Government Data Maturity Model from the initial background research, to building the model, and piloting it across government. We also briefly discuss the findings of the pilots and what is next for the Government Data Maturity Model.

The team behind the model will be hosting four sessions throughout DataConnect, the free public sector data conference. Hear more about the project behind the model and its future at DataConnect on Monday, 26 September 2022 at 11:00: The Government Data Maturity Model: Where has it come from and what’s next.

Data maturity models are a structured way to measure how prepared your organisation is to make best use of the data you hold. They can help you to identify your strengths, and to pick out areas where building capability would help improve the value you get out of your data.