Page 15 - Doing Data Together by The Scotsman

Rapid and extensive expansion of data has allowed us to track and respond to Covid-19. Data has played a critical role throughout the pandemic, and there is much to learn in terms of how we use data in future
RACHEL ALDIGHIERI
WENDY REDSHAW CHIEF DIGITAL OFFICER, RBS
As an organisation, we
at the Royal Bank of
Scotland have been faced
with a huge challenge over
these past few months,
due to Covid-19, to ensure
that we could best support
our customers. We have
had to adapt the way we
work, the way we communicate and some of the services we offer.
In these challenging circumstances, we have had
to move with agility, embrace change, develop new and different ways of working and communicating both with each other, and with our customers.
Without data and insight, this would have been an almost impossible task.
Rich customer data has allowed us to tailor our response to the crisis, ensuring we are able to communicate to customers quickly and
remain relevant to their current and future needs. This rich data has enabled us to support our customers more quickly, and identify in real time what services are being used or under-used so that we can ease pressure points and act quickly to resolve any issues.
Throughout the crisis, we have been committed to keeping
our branch network open, while keeping customers and colleagues safe.
A great example of data
and insights in action were enhancements to our branch opening hours via Branch Locator, Google My Business, Cora and Near Me functionality in the Royal Bank app.
This made it easy for customers to track down the closest open branches and cash machines to them, in real time, in the midst
of Covid-19 uncertainty and lockdown.
JARMO ESKELINEN EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, DATA-DRIVEN INNOVATION INITIATIVE
When Covid-19 hit
Scotland, a group
of researchers and
technology experts, led
by professors Nick Mills
and Mark Parsons, were
busy planning NHS
DataLoch: a storage
facility holding health
and social care data for the residents of the Edinburgh city region in defined, linked and accessible format.
It was meant to be in full
use in 2021. Instead, within a month, the team launched the DataLoch Covid-19 Collaborative – a comprehensive, accurate and current repository for all patients tested for Covid-19
in south-east Scotland, with diagnoses and outcomes, supported by clinicians, academics and data scientists.
Since May, it has enabled rapid evaluation of new diagnostic tests and pathways to improve
care – helping to save lives. It shows access to open, inter-operable and timely data is critical
for understanding
the pandemic and
the best strategies for responding.
Data is also needed to produce timely insights into economic, social and
environmental impacts of the pandemic. Without this, our ability to learn from this crisis for the future will be severely undermined.
However, as Prof Shannon Vallor has emphasised, new data streams don’t help if the human and institutional failures that underlie the present pandemic remain unaddressed. We need to consider what sources of data we already had and failed to use effectively, and analyse where the data gaps are. More data for the sake of it is not the answer.
MANAGING DIRECTOR,DMA
The pandemic has taught us that data can be a force for good – but with clear
caveats. It’s at times of high stress and tension that relationships can
be broken, so the value and importance of data
to truly understand attitudes and mindsets
is critical. Organisations that
have put people first have not only been
able to find the right approach
but have also built more
empathetic and authentic
brands. They’ve
done this by using data to predict
and
understand communities, customers and employees – in some cases even turning their business models on their head in order to succeed.
Also, the pandemic has amplified the critical importance of trust. Without it, we cannot collect the data we need to serve people better.
Nobody should have to choose between privacy
and access to a product or service – especially not when it relates to their health. While building trust is complex, Scotland’s AI strategy lays out the foundations– particularly around the role of ethics, inclusion and collaboration.
Embedding ethical frameworks into mainstream data practices is vital to ensure that ethics and values are at the centre of business practice and people’s rights are protected. It’s only then that data can truly be a force for good.
GILLIAN DOCHERTY CHIEF EXECUTIVE, THE DATA LAB
The pandemic has taught us an awful lot about the importance and value of data, across multiple spheres. The obvious one is health: we have used data to track the pandemic and infection rates and to identify hotspots and respond to that.
But it’s a much bigger picture. Businesses are more aware of the value of data in terms of managing supply chains, understanding customers and optimising various elements of their business by using data better.
In the public sector, behind the management of the virus and tracking, there is also a broad societal impact, such as shielding and school closures.
Data has informed decisions and policy-making across so many areas, including furlough and other business support measures. Having economic data can inform decisions on where interventions are targeted for greatest impact.
The pandemic has also affected data gathering, sharing and analysis in the public sector. I have been involved with public sector organisations for more than a decade and never seen the
level of co-operation and collaboration I’ve seen over the last five months.
There have to be real, lasting benefits of the
walls coming down, the willingness to support each
other and the can-do attitude – and this has included handling, sharing and analysing data.
This was achieved while respecting governance and public privacy. The public sector proved it could move at speed to do what needed to be done without ripping up the rule book. That’s really positive.
There is, however, still a big piece of work to do around common data standards and frameworks:
it is much easier to share data (ethically and legally) between public bodies when everything is aligned. The Scottish Government is well advanced in looking at this.
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