10am – 12pm28 February 2024
techUK, 10 St Bride Street, London, EC4A 4AD Online
techUK is delighted to be hosting the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology on Wednesday 28 February from 10:00 - 12:00 for a hybrid roundtable on public sector data availability.
The Data Economy Innovation & Coordination unit in DSIT is tasked with delivering Mission 1 of the National Data Strategy – to unlock the power of data across the economy.
One of the team’s primary focuses since May 2023 has been a collaborative project between CDDO and DSIT that was established following HMG’s response to Sir Patrick Vallance’s Pro-innovation Regulation of Technologies Review. This stated that government would explore how CDDO's cross-government Data Marketplace could be expanded to improve industry and researcher access to public sector data, in order to encourage economic growth and improve public services.
As part of this project, CDDO has explored supply-related aspects of public sector data access provision, while DSIT has explored industry and researcher demand for public sector data access. This has primarily been delivered through a wide-ranging stakeholder engagement programme, which included two techUK-hosted roundtables in August 2023.
This roundtable will give techUK members the opportunity to hear about some of the major points and potential recommendations that DSIT have drawn from its engagement with external stakeholders, and the aim of the roundtable is for DSIT to test these with techUK members.
Members who attend the roundtable will be actively encouraged to scrutinise and challenge the findings so that DSIT can refine and enhance them for inclusion in a final report on public sector data accessibility. Attendee contributions in the roundtable have the potential to help shape the future trajectory of this important policy area.
If you would like to attend, make sure to register your place. Please note: Spaces are limited to two attendees per organisation.
Heather Cover-Kus
Head of Central Government Programme, techUK
Heather Cover-Kus
Head of Central Government Programme, techUK
Heather is Head of Central Government Programme at techUK, working to represent the supplier community of tech products and services to Central Government.
Prior to joining techUK in April 2022, Heather worked in the Economic Policy and Small States Section at the Commonwealth Secretariat. She led the organisation’s FinTech programme and worked to create an enabling environment for developing countries to take advantage of the socio-economic benefits of FinTech.
Before moving to the UK, Heather worked at the Office of the Prime Minister of The Bahamas and the Central Bank of The Bahamas.
Heather holds a Graduate Diploma in Law from BPP, a Masters in Public Administration (MPA) from LSE, and a BA in Economics and Sociology from Macalester College.
Ellie joined techUK in March 2018 as a Programme Assistant to the Public Sector team and now works as a Programme Manager for the Central Government Programme.
The programme represents the supplier community of technology products and services in Central Government – in summary working to make Government a more informed buyer, increasing supplier visibility in order to improve their chances of supplying to Government Departments, and fostering better engagement between the public sector and industry. To find out more about what we do, how we do this and how you can get involved – make sure to get in touch!
Prior to joining techUK, Ellie completed Sixth Form in June 2015 and went on to work in Waitrose, moved on swiftly to walking dogs and finally, got an office job working for a small local business in North London, where she lives with her family and their two Bengal cats Kai and Nova.
When she isn’t working Ellie likes to spend time with her family and friends, her cats, and enjoys volunteering for diabetes charities. She has a keen interest in writing, escaping with a good book and expanding her knowledge watching far too many quiz shows!
Austin joined techUK’s Central Government team in March 2024 to launch a workstream within Education and EdTech.
With a career spanning technology, policy, media, events and comms, Austin has worked with technology communities, as well as policy leaders and practitioners in Education, Central and Local Government and the NHS.
Cutting his teeth working for Skills Matter, London’s developer community hub, Austin then moved to GovNet Communications where he launched Blockchain Live and the Cyber Security and Data Protection Summit. For the last 3 years he has worked with leaders in Education across the state and independent schools sectors, from primary up to higher education, with a strong research interest in technology and education management.
Programme Manager, Cyber Security and Central Government, techUK
Annie Collings
Programme Manager, Cyber Security and Central Government, techUK
Annie joined techUK as the Programme Manager for Cyber Security and Central Government in September 2023.
Prior to joining techUK, Annie worked as an Account Manager at PLMR Healthcomms, a specialist healthcare agency providing public affairs support to a wide range of medical technology clients. Annie also spent time as an Intern in an MPs constituency office and as an Intern at the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed.
Annie graduated from Nottingham Trent University, where she was an active member of the lacrosse society.
Ella joined techUK in November 2023 as a Markets Team Assistant, supporting the Justice and Emergency Services, Central Government and Financial Services Programmes.
Before joining the team, she was working at the Magistrates' Courts in legal administration and graduated from the University of Liverpool in 2022. Ella attained an undergraduate degree in History and Politics, and a master's degree in International Relations and Security Studies, with a particular interest in studying asylum rights and gendered violence.
In her spare time she enjoys going to the gym, watching true crime documentaries, travelling, and making her best attempts to become a better cook.
Building the Smarter State is techUK’s flagship public services conference and the go-to conference for public sector digital leaders.
2024 will mark the tenth anniversary of this hugely influential conference, where we will focus on the most pressing and important topics for public sector digital transformation.