Sign up to the London Data Charter
To help address London’s most pressing challenges, the city needs to make better use of the vast amounts of data and analysis held by businesses and the public sector. The London Data Charter aims to do just that by facilitating the sharing of data between the public and private sectors in order to bring about benefits for Londoners.
The Principles are a common foundation that underpins the Charter and can be used as a base for any data sharing activity by any organisation interested in sharing data in London. They guide the data-sharing process, demonstrate a collective purpose around what signatories are trying to achieve and increase efficiency by giving all signatories the same strategic starting point.
Updating the Principles
After having been initially developed over the course of 2021 / 2022, BusinessLDN and Pinsent Masons LLP have led a review of the Principles to bring them up to date to reflect developments in the data-sharing space and differing areas of public focus. Members of the BusinessLDN Data Working Group were consulted for their input at working group meetings.
The main areas of focus include:
- ‘Deliver benefit for Londoners’ – This Principle deals with reducing London’s impact on climate change and references live, innovative and data-driven projects that are being undertaken by the BusinessLDN Data Working Group in this space.
- ‘Promote Trust’ – Gaining the public’s trust is key when sharing data, as is developing trust between signatories, which will be fostered through a focus on transparency. This Principle encourages signatories to be transparent about the risks and benefits of new technologies if and when they are being engaged and a discussion on the ethical impacts of utilising such technologies is always encouraged.
- ‘Creating scalable and sustainable solutions’ – Instead of ‘growing’ solutions by injecting them with cash and resources, the London Data Charter promotes scalability and sustainability through an open, collaborative and trustworthy approach. This Principle encourages organisations to think about how they can prepare for and defend against future economic uncertainties, as well as promoting environmental sustainability.
- ‘Protect Privacy and Security’ – Recent high-profile data breaches are a reminder that data must be protected and kept secure in any collaborative data sharing exercise, with this Principle requiring rigorous measures to be put in place to safeguard the privacy and security of data obtained from individuals and other signatories.
Become a signatory today
Much of the data about London that we need to make a difference to citizens on the ground is fragmented across public institutions and locked behind corporate walls. Help us change that and be part of one of London’s most innovative, data-led approaches to solving the city’s toughest challenges by opening and sharing your data.
Join the likes of Microsoft, the Open Data Institute, BT, the Greater London Authority, BusinessLDN, Pinsent Masons, Kings College London, CBRE, Transport for London and many more and subscribe to the London Data Charter today. Being a signatory to the London Data Charter is a prerequisite for joining the BusinessLDN Data Working Group, a dedicated group of data professionals focussed on using innovation in data to drive collaboration between the businesses and the public sector to tackle some of London’s biggest policy challenges.
For more information on the BusinessLDN Data Working Group, please contact Edward Richardson, Programme Director for People & Skills.