Connecting analysts together

Whatever makes you proud to be a government analyst, whether it’s telling stories through your data analysis to help serve citizens better, helping to answer big questions at the highest level or connecting with your colleagues and learning something new, the inaugural Analysis in Government Month had it all!

In brief:

• We sold 7,500 tickets for events,
• Provided 30 hours of event content,
• Through 22 events,
• Published 29 blogs from departments and professions across the Analysis Function,
• Premiered 6 Head of Profession videos on our YouTube “Analysis in Government Month” playlist:

Analysis In Government Month playlist,

Our very first day set the scene, kicking off with an opening address from Professor Sir Ian Diamond, Head of the Analysis Function and National Statistician who introduced the theme of event; ‘Analysis Connect’ and the importance of encouraging collaborative working by bringing the analytical community together. He then led straight into a panel discussion with Professor Alison Park (Interim chair of the Economic and Social Research Council), Osama Rahman (Chief Analyst and Chief Scientific Advisor, Department for Education) and Jonathan Mills (Director General for Policy, Department for Work and Pensions), who discussed the future of analysis in government.

Focusing the discussion on high-quality analysis of data, Osama commented that “Whilst we say, ‘Wow, look at all this data!’ let’s not forget we need the full range of analytical skills that cover both breadth and depth”.

We sold a phenomenal 7,500 tickets for seminars throughout the month, with delegates choosing from panel sessions, tackling big issues such as climate change and how data can make children’s lives better, learning seminars and connection opportunities, as well as daily blog posts from colleagues across the Analysis Function, giving us an insight into their work.

We enjoyed exploring topics such as data visualisation, Reproducible Analytical Pipelines (RAP) and how to make spreadsheets accessible, rounding the month off with a fantastic Hackathon event, really capturing the month’s theme of connectivity. During the Hackathon, groups of 45 delegates from 17 different departments and various professions, worked together to answer six research questions posed by the Joint Biosecurity Centre (JBC), The Office for the Children’s Commissioner and the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The best thing is that it’s not too late to catch up on the terrific stories told by your government analyst colleagues through blogs and videos, all of which are available on our Analysis in Government Month hub page. Make sure to follow us on YouTube for more on highlights from the month.

We’d love to hear from you, what were your highlights and what would you like to see more of at future events? Email analysis.function@ons.gov.uk to let us know.

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