Imagine your local groceries store had a small but notable price change. You probably would not consider switching to a…
Read more on Estimating geographical retail markets from card spending data
Introduction The Data Science Campus (DSC) are actively developing a tool, which aims to significantly improve the efficiency of processing…
Read more on ScannerAI – Advancing Receipt Data Processing with AI
Data Science Campus work focuses on a number of core themes:
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This page provides additional detail to our findings presented in our technical blog (advised to be read first) Here we…
Read more on BBC micro:bit playground survey results (Detailed statistical findings)About Given the rapid advancements in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (AI), a key focus of the Data Science Campus…
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The BBC micro:bit playground survey was designed as an opportunity for primary school children aged 7 to 11, to learn about data and computer coding. Using
Read more on BBC micro:bit playground survey results
We have built a new, open-source toolkit for measuring the performance of urban centre transport networks
Read more on Transport Performance: A reproducible and reusable toolkit for measuring transport network performances internationally
We have explored the feasibility of using open data to analyse local transport performance. In this publication we demonstrate how to produce hyperlocal bus service coverage and punctuality metrics.
Read more on Bus reliability – analysing the morning travel peak across England
We are developing a new tool, “ClassifAI”, which is an experimental text classification pipeline
Read more on ClassifAI – Exploring the use of Large Language Models (LLMs) to assign free text to commonly used classifications
Critical maritime passages are narrow passages of water that are important due to their role in international trade, maritime navigation, and geopolitics.
Read more on Ship Traffic in Critical Maritime Passages
The ONS takes very seriously its responsibility to link datasets securely, ethically and robustly, and is taking a leading role in exploring how new technology can help us achieve this.
Read more on Developing a Privacy Preserving Record Linkage toolkit
We believe that bringing data scientists together and sharing projects, challenges, and learning can lead to problems being solved quickly and collaboratively, instead of silo-working.
Read more on Showcasing our collaborative community
Using data science and automation in the production of price statistics
Read more on Transformation in the Ghana Statistical Service
Synthetic data are artificially generated data that are made to resemble real-world, often sensitive, data.
Read more on Enabling Data Access through Privacy Preserving Synthetic Data
This report offers a thorough look into how we created a synthetic version of a large, linked, and confidential dataset while adhering to a formal privacy framework
Read more on Synthesising the linked 2011 Census and deaths dataset while preserving its confidentiality
Join us this autumn to celebrate the Power of Community at the first Data Science Community Showcase!
Read more on Celebrating the power of community
Transparency declarations have a potential to capture a sizeable amount of public sector spending.
Read more on Exploring trends in local government spending through transparency declarations
The LBD is at its core a re-usable longitudinal data spine with each of its component providing the longitudinal link between business references. Data spine is a new concept.
Read more on The Longitudinal Business Database: Capturing the UK economy with new business microdataDownload as PDF (198 KB) Guidance for applying for the Master’s (MSc) in Data Analytics for Government (MDataGov) studentsOffice for…
Read more on Master’s in Data Analytics for Government application guidanceDownload as PDF (144 KB) Guidance on funding for the Master’s (MSc) in Data Analytics for Government (MDataGov) studentsOffice for…
Read more on Master’s in Data Analytics for Government guidance on fundingDownload as PDF (147 KB) Guidance for managers of the Master’s (MSc) in Data Analytics for Government (MDataGov) studentsOffice for…
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Coming soon: the Data Science Community Showcase is a celebration of the power of community. This year, the event will take place over three days, from 28 to 30 November 2023.
Read more on Data Science Community Showcase 2023
The International Data Masterclass is a collaboration between the ONS, FCDO, ESCAP and UNSD. The course is designed to help…
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We demonstrate the use of a range of freely available anonymised and aggregated novel datasets to estimate visitation counts to natural areas.
Read more on A data science approach to estimate the use of natural spaces: a feasibility study
We are delighted to share that we are supporting Cabinet Office’s new annual training initiative, One Big Thing. This year, the focus is on data upskilling!
Read more on Are you ready for One Big Thing?
We have been exploring how NLP techniques and LLMs could be used in the future to improve website search experience for end-users.
Read more on Using large language models (LLMs) to improve website search experience with StatsChat
We are planning to follow up on previous work we published earlier this year looking at public transport availability across the UK, by providing metrics for urban centres across the UK, as well as their international counterparts.
Read more on Comparing international transport performance in urban centres: upcoming work
We have produced an alternative estimation of the census travel to work matrices annually from 2012 to 2021, bridging the 10-year gap. This report looks at the technical specification of the gravity model, with the summary of input data and initial results.
Read more on Technical report: Estimation of travel to work matrices
Using novel modelling approaches, we have produced an alternative estimation of the travel to work matrices annually between 2012 and 2021, bridging the 10-year gap between Census data.
Read more on Estimation of travel to work matrices
In this guest blog, Helen Lankester, offers insights into her participation in the Accelerator programme, highlighting the impact and career growth she had through her involvement in the programme.
Read more on Guest blog: Breaking into the world of data science with the Accelerator programme
In this guest blog, 10DS data science fellows Federico and Robin, talk about working with the Campus to create packages that import, process and visualise DfT’s journey time statistics data.
Read more on Guest blog: Enhancing open-access data analysis: introducing the Journey Time Statistics R and Python packages
This report is part of a programme of work that the ONS has been doing with the Alan Turing Institute to explore the usefulness of various economic nowcasting methods, particularly the signature method.
Read more on Technical report: nowcasting UK household income using the new “signature” method
Nowcasting refers to generating estimates of the current (“now”) state of the economy. We investigate how signature methods can be useful in the context of economic nowcasting
Read more on Helping decision makers understand the economy quickly through new methods
We have been working with the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) to show how data science techniques can enable and enhance the analysis of global supply chains.
Read more on Using Natural Language Processing for the analysis of global supply chains
Calling all UK public sector analysts interested in developing data science and data visualisation skills. The Autumn 2023 cohort of the Accelerator is now open for applications!
Read more on Data Science and Data Visualisation Accelerator
The latest opportunities to join the Data Science Campus to work on exciting projects using data science for the public good.
Read more on Careers
ONS Data Science Campus (DSC) and Defra’s Spatial Data Science team developed a novel solution for estimating the number of visitors to natural spaces across England.
Read more on Using open-source data to measure our engagement with the natural environment
In this guest blog post, graduate data scientist, Lilly Taylor, gives an an account of what it is like to work as a graduate data scientist in the public sector.
Read more on Guest blog: A day in the life of a graduate data scientist in the public sectorThis page contains some frequently asked questions about the Data Science and Data Visualisation Accelerator programme.
Read more on Data Science and Data Visualisation Accelerator Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Through the ONS-UNECE Machine Learning Group and our Data Science Campus Faculty, we offer access to research reports and training on data science coding and applied techniques.
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The team supports global capacity development through collaboration with international organisations and statistical agencies.
Read more on Partnerships
The Data Science Campus International team has been partnering with the Iris Institute to support the software development roadmap to improve coding of causes of death.
Read more on Global System for International Classification of Diseases
The team has been partnering with Eurostat on use of web data for official statistics
Read more on European Statistical System Web Intelligence NetworkThe Data Science Graduate Programme curriculum provides a robust and exciting learning pathway designed to consolidate existing analytical skills.
Read more on Data Science Graduate Programme CurriculumThis page contains some frequently asked questions about the Data Science Graduate Programme.
Read more on Data Science Graduate Programme Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)This page contains information about standalone Continuing Professional Development (CPD) modules and their availability for this academic year.
Read more on Master’s in Data Analytics for Government (MDataGov) CPD modules
In this blog post, we are sharing more about what is available through the community to support you in your career, including the our brand-new Living Library.
Read more on How the cross-public sector data science community can support your career
The Data Science Community is a vibrant space where those with an interest in data science, across the public sector, come together to share knowledge, exchange ideas, and build networks.
Read more on Cross-Government and Public Sector Data Science Community
We are pleased to announce that we have expanded our training offer by incorporating the delivery of the Analysis Function technical training, which includes delivering instructor-led workshops.
Read more on More ways to expand your data science skills with the Data Science Campus We go behind our analysis on the use of microdata for the examination of preference tariff utilisation and take a deep dive into challenges of drawing together new administrative data sources to answer relevant policy questions.
Read more on The use of microdata for firm-level analysis of preference tariff utilisation in the UK: technical report
We celebrate work we have done to build data and data science skills across the wider public sector, and share our plans for the future.
Read more on Building a love for data across the public sector
We have been partnering with the European Statistical System Network (ESSnet) Trusted Smart Statistics – Web Intelligence Network project (WIN) since April 2021. With the objective of providing comparable statistics at EU level for all members.
Read more on Advancing official statistics through web data and international partnerships
We show how shipping instructions can be used to map the trade routes of critical goods. This will help understand our reliance on global ports for accessing specific products, and draw insights on the impact of important events such as strikes.
Read more on Using new shipping data to improve government understanding of trade flows
We have published data to help researchers and local planners understand how public transport access varies across the UK, using open data and open-source software.
Read more on Using open data to understand hyperlocal differences in UK public transport availability
We used machine learning to develop a model to identify areas of trees from satellite images in eastern Uganda, where the Mbale Trees Programme has been running since 2010.
Read more on Using Sentinel-2 images to measure the change in tree coverage in eastern Uganda: what does it mean for the Mbale Trees Programme?
The Data Science Campus has designed the International Data Science Accelerator mentoring programme in collaboration with the United Nations (UN) Big Data Task Team
Read more on International Data Science Accelerator Programme
The Campus has delivered a suite of tools and code to North of Tyne Combined Authority (NTCA) to support their work to prioritise broadband infrastructure improvements in the region.
Read more on Using data science to help inform regional broadband investment
Campus data scientists achieved an impressive third place in the UN PET Lab hackathon, competing against nearly 200 international teams. Read about their experience and approach during the competition.
Read more on Campus in the top three at the UN PET Lab hackathon
Interested in the Data Science and Data Visualisation Accelerator? Applications for both programmes are opening soon. Read more in this blog post.
Read more on Join the Accelerator movement in 2023This accessibility process was developed by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) Data Science Campus. It applies to anyone reviewing,…
Read more on Data Science Campus faculty accessibility process 2022
In this guest blog, data science apprentice Evie Brown from the Social Care Analysis team at the Office for National Statistics (ONS) presents work on grouping online job adverts by social care role. This project was a significant part of the final year of the Level Six Data Science Apprenticeship.
Read more on Identifying different roles in the social care sector using online job advertisements
A large-scale accessibility audit of many courses and presentation templates on the Learning Hub and the ONS website in 2021 revealed many accessibility issues that would impact users of screen reader technology.
In this blog post Jake Marshall talks about the process I developed and why this project is important not only to the Campus, but to him personally.
This summer, the Campus hosted two interns as part of the HDR UK’s Black Internship Programme. Read more about their experience, embedded in real-life data science projects within our teams.
Read more on Improving career opportunities for Black data scientists in the UK
NHS Test and Trace asked us to extract insights from COVID-19 contact tracing app reviews to help them understand how the app could be improved.
Read more on Understanding NHS coronavirus (COVID-19) app reviews using topic modelling As part of our graduate programme, we successfully delivered a geospatial module produced by the Office for National Statistics’ (ONS) Geography team and Ordnance Survey (OS). Find out more about this collaboration.
Read more on Broadening geospatial skills across the public sector
Find out more about the Government Data Science Community’s events and opportunities in 2022. The community is a vibrant space for analysts and data scientists in the UK public sector.
Read more on The Government Data Science Community in 2022
This Data Science Graduate Programme Handbook is for current and prospective graduates, as well as stakeholders looking for more information about this programme.
Read more on Data Science Graduate Programme Handbook
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) asked the Campus to see if machine learning techniques could be used to predict the energy efficiency of properties that do not have an official score. Read more about our findings on this blog post.
Read more on Predicting the Energy Performance Certificates (EPC) of properties
This summer, the Campus faculty hosted two groups of students to engage them in a unique work experience that helped them gain valuable workplace skills.
Read more on Opening our doors to future talent
We welcomed guests from 26 national and international organisations at our offices in Newport, including partners from Rwanda, Brazil, Thailand, Lebanon, Jordan and Canada.
Read more on Bringing the world to ONS: Working together on data science and big dataThis page outlines the ONS Data Science Campus social media policy.
Read more on Social media policy
Rail services can be affected by temporary factors such as unseasonably hot weather, industrial action and engineering works. We produced maps from open data showing service levels at every station in Great Britain over a 21-day period.
Read more on Visualising rail schedules using open data
The Data Science Campus has designed the International Data Science Accelerator mentoring programme in collaboration with the United Nations (UN) Big Data Task Team on Training, Competencies and Capacity Development.
Read more on What is the International Data Science Accelerator Programme?
We are excited to be able to offer this opportunity and we hope the information provided will inspire you to join our virtual international data science mentorship programme. We look forward to hearing from you.
Read more on International Accelerator Programme – Call for mentors
This is a project based mentoring programme and as a mentee you’ll need to submit a data science project on which you’ll potentially collaborate with a designated mentor.
Read more on International Accelerator Programme – Call for mentees
In this blog our Programme Officer managing the Graduate Programme, Laura Clarke, gives an update on our sought after Graduate Programme.
Read more on The data science graduate programme: past, present and future The MDataGov is a unique and flexible full-time or part-time master’s programme that combines modules in statistics and data science.
Read more on Master’s (MSc) in Data Analytics for GovernmentPublished on 1 July 2022 The Data Science Accelerator is a capability-building programme which gives analysts from across the public…
Read more on Data Science Accelerator privacy notice
At the World Expo in Dubai, we supported other National Statistics Organisations to develop their data science capability by delivering a series of workshops, training sessions and discussions.
Read more on UK data science on a global stage
Here are some examples of projects from the first cohort of the International Data Science Accelerator programme, including testimonials from mentors and mentees.
Read more on Examples of International Data Science Accelerator projects Data synthesis is an active area of research for many organisations, including the Office for National Statistics (ONS). SynthGauge is a Python library that provides decision-makers with a range of metrics and visualisations for evaluating synthetic data.
Read more on Evaluating synthetic data using SynthGauge
There are opportunities for public sector analysts to study one-off, week-long modules to improve their data analytics skills in the summer of 2022.
Read more on Individual CPD modules from the MDataGov programme
To support the national fight against coronavirus (COVID-19) in March 2020, BT made aggregate, anonymised mobility data available to the UK Government. We quickly turned this into daily updates, with only one day’s delay between activity and the reporting of it.
Read more on Case study: responding to the coronavirus pandemic using aggregated BT mobility data Understanding and monitoring the major influences on COVID-19 infection numbers in communities is essential to inform policy making and evaluate the impact of non-pharmaceutical interventions. We have developed a community-level analysis by assembling a large set of static and dynamic data for England.
Read more on Use of hybrid data to understand the community-level influences on coronavirus (COVID-19) incidence
At Government Data Science Festival 2022, we considered ‘The Future of Data Science for Public Good’. We’ll have Festival resources available shortly, and are inviting you to have your say through our ManiFESTo.
Read more on Government Data Science Festival 2022
The UK’s exit from the European Union created uncertainty about workers across a range of sectors, exacerbated by concerns over workers leaving the country and the impact on labour supply. The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic created additional and sudden changes, with sectors being affected heterogeneously and demand switching from services to goods.
Read more on Worker shortages: A window on labour demand during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic
Government Data Science Festival 2022 has seen lively discussion and debate around a wide range of issues that matter to…
Read more on ManiFESTo
Cattle are central to many people’s livelihoods in South Sudan, but there are very few recent data on the number of animals and their geographic distribution. Building on previous work, this blog explores new methods, based on convolutional neural networks, that can better distinguish cattle camps from similar landscape features.
Read more on Technical report: Predicting cattle camp locations in South Sudan from Sentinel 2 satellite imagery
On 27 March 2017, with an audience of UK and international data science leaders from across the public, private and academic sectors, a team of 8, some brilliant presentations, and a lot of excitement, the Data Science Campus was launched. 5 years later, Louisa Nolan shares what have we learned along the way.
Read more on The Data Science Campus – five years of data science for public good
Preference utilisation rates (PURs) measure the extent to which UK businesses make use of the zero or reduced tariffs available via free trade agreements (FTAs). In this work, we study the take-up of preferential tariffs by UK businesses between 2009 and 2019 and examine their trends and patterns.
Read more on Employing data science to analyse the use of preferential tariffs in free trade agreements
We are delighted to launch the Public Sector Data Science Graduate Programme for 2022 to 2024, with applications open until 24 March 2022.
Read more on Launching the Public Sector Data Science Graduate Programme 2022 to 2024
The Public Sector Data Science Graduate Programme 2022 to 2024 is an exciting opportunity for you to work at the heart of public sector data science.
Read more on Data Science Graduate Programme 2022 – applicant brochure
It has been one year since the creation of the Data Masterclass for Senior Leaders, and participation in the programme has far exceeded expectations.
Read more on One year of the Data Masterclass for Senior Leaders
Part of our mission at the Data Science Campus (DSC) is to build data science capability across the public sector. In this project, which grew out of our Data Science Accelerator programme, we worked with the Royal Air Force (RAF) to help upskill their staff in the Python programming language and natural language processing (NLP) methods.
Read more on Technical Report: Project Mertz—novel use of historical RAF flight safety records
At the Data Science Campus, we pride ourselves in collaborating with experts from various fields and organisations to deliver data science for the public good.
Read more on Collaborations
The International Data Science Accelerator Programme opened for its’ first applicants on 31 January. We spoke to Fatima Al Taharhwa (Department of Statistics, Jordan) and her mentor Hatem El Sherif (Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre, United Arab Emirates), who took part in the pilot programme.
Read more on Mentoring without borders – growing data science skills internationally
Our data science apprentices have gone from strength to strength over the past three years, and are using their passion and experiences to inspire young people and be role models for the next generation of data scientists.
Read more on Building data science futures one bite at a time
During National Apprenticeship Week 2021, we wanted to help ONS staff with young kids being home schooled by giving them some time back while we taught their children some data science.
Read more on Bitesize data science for kids
Applications for the Data Visualisation Accelerator are open until 11 February 2022. We hear how a mentor and mentee from the first cohort of the programme and how they, and their organisations benefitted.
Read more on Visualising in pairs – growing data visualisation skills through mentoring