Celebrating the power of community
| Come and join us to celebrate the power of community at the first Data Science Community Showcase! Go to the Showcase Eventbrite collection to book the first wave of sessions. More sessions will be released soon. |
The Cross-Government and Public Sector Data Science Community provides regular opportunities for people in the public sector, with an interest in data science, to connect with their peers, learn new skills and collaborate. We have come a long way in 2023! Some of our achievements include:
- launching our living library
- expanding our network to include analysts and data scientists from more than 200 public sector organisations
- delivering nine meetups on themes such as data ethics, local government and learning from failure
- building upon the success of last year’s Data Science Festival to deliver an improved programme of events designed to meet our members’ needs
- supporting three subcommunities, Text Data, Local Government and Graphs and Networks, with more to follow
- launching the Data Science Leaders Network
This autumn, we are hosting the first Data Science Community Showcase to celebrate the successes of our community, as well as those of other networks and communities supporting government analysts. The event will take place online over three days. It’s an excellent opportunity to expand your network, showcase your work and hear from colleagues in government who use data science for the public good.
The Showcase will feature curated content coordinated by the Data Science Community, with support from our partners, focused on three content strands: your career in data science, the Data Science Toolshed and making an impact with data science.
We would like to extend a special thanks to Data Cymru, who have helped us to curate the content and engage speakers, ensuring that the voices of colleagues in local and devolved governments across the UK are incorporated into the Showcase.
Civil servants can count attendance of any Showcase sessions towards their One Big Thing data training.
Day one: your career in data science
We will explore skills-building and career progression in the data science space. This follows the success of our career panel events throughout 2023 and requests from our members to access career content.
On day one you can expect:
- sessions on skills development delivered by the Data Science Campus, the Text Data Subcommunity and the Data Literacy Community
- sessions on topics such as skills for text analysis, data ethics and data engineering
- career panels featuring data scientists at all levels, answering your questions about entering and progressing in the field
Day two: the Data Science Toolshed
At our June meetup we invited our members to enter the Data Science Toolshed, where developers code in the open, follow best RAP practice, and build tools to share. We had great feedback from the event and not enough time to explore the tools available to government data scientists, so we have decided to dedicate a whole day to the toolshed as part of the Showcase.
On day two you can expect:
- sessions on how and why to code in the open, supported by the Data Science Campus and the ONS Analytical Standards and Pipelines (ASaP) team
- demonstrations and case studies for tools and packages to support public sector analysis, in collaboration with the NHS-R Community and the RAP network
Day three: making an impact with data science
We will shift our focus to looking at the context in which we do data science. The questions we address on this day are important not only for data scientists, data engineers and data analysts, but for also for policymakers, scientists and anyone in government whose work is impacted by data. Some of the questions cover how policymakers and data scientists can support each other and how data science improves the lives of the public.
On day three you can expect:
- panel discussions and fireside chats between data scientists and policymakers, about how they work together and how data impacts policy
- sessions on how emerging technologies will impact the work of data scientists and data engineers, with support from the EmTech Community
- sessions on how data science can improve the lives of the public
Which days should I attend?
Everyone is invited to join us for all three days of the Showcase. In the following table we have suggested specific groups of people who might find certain sessions particularly beneficial.
| Day | Recommended if… |
| Day one: your career in data science | – you are a data scientist or data engineer at any level in a public sector organisation – you are an analyst or statistician looking to develop data science skills – you are thinking about starting a career in data science |
| Day 2: the Data Science Toolshed | – you are a data scientist or data engineer in the public sector – you are a software developer with an interest in tools for analysis – you are interested in developing your coding skills and learning about open sourcing – you work in public sector analysis and want to know what tools are available to support you |
| Day 3: making an impact with data science | – you are a data scientist or data engineer interested in how your work impacts the lives of the public – you are a policymaker interested in how data science can be used to inform policy – you work in the public sector and are interested in how data science and AI will impact your role in the future |
Our Community is for everyone
This year, we have focused on broadening the reach of our Community activities and making it more inclusive. Engaging with a wider range of sectors and organisations in our programme, means more opportunities to grow your network, understand the data science landscape, and collaborate rather than duplicate.
By teaming up with partner networks and communities with shared goals, we aim to deliver a Showcase that highlights the many areas of the public sector that are underpinned by data science. We are delighted to be working with the RAP Network, the NHS-R Community, the Emerging Technology (EmTech) Community, and our own subcommunities.
The first sessions are now live for booking on Eventbrite. Join our mailing list to be the first to know when more sessions become available.