New governance needed for data use in 21st Century

The current framework for governing the management and use of data cannot keep pace with technological advances, according to a new report by the Royal Society and the British Academy.

The report calls for the establishment of a new, independent body to steward an overall framework that can safeguard public confidence and ensure that the potential benefits of data use such as improved public services, better healthcare and business innovation are fully realised.

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First among the recommendations is the adoption of a set of high level principles to guide future data governance. It proposes an over-arching principle that systems that govern data need to promote human flourishing, focusing on ensuring that data is used to serve individuals and communities. The principles are:
– Protect individual and collective rights and interests
– Ensure trade-offs affected by data management and data use are made transparently, accountably and inclusively
– Seek out good practices and learn from success and from failure
– Enhance existing democratic governance

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The second recommendation is the creation of an independent body to steward the governance landscape as a whole. This body would anticipate, monitor and evaluate the management and usage of data, build practices and set standards and provide clarity and propose solutions where tensions arise.

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Data management and use: Governance in the 21st century

A joint report by the British Academy and the Royal Society