Your persona
You might be new to using data, or it's currently less relevant to your role or part of your working culture. You might be starting your journey exploring how and why being data-driven can positively impact your work. As someone in a management or leadership position, you may have other team members who do most of the data wrangling on your behalf, giving you less opportunity to use it yourself.
It can be tricky to figure out where to begin, but you're not alone. You've done this self-assessment because you see the value of data and are excited to embed it further into your own professional practice and leadership. That mindset is critical and puts you in a strong position to develop your skills.
Build your skills and knowledge
Identify opportunities or tasks where using data can add value. Talk to your team members about their work and look for areas where data could be used to improve decision-making, efficiency, or effectiveness.
Work with others to identify the right data for a decision-making problem. When faced with a decision-making problem, take the time to identify the data that is relevant to the problem. Consider the different types of available data and the ways the data can be analysed to provide insights. Promote the data protection principles your organisation works to. Share your organisation's data protection principles with your team and explain why they are important. Lead by example and follow the data protection principles in your own work.
Identify and mitigate the risks of data breaches by considering the different types of data your organisation collects, how it is stored, and how it is accessed.
Carve out time for professional development. Diarise a chunk of time each week where you can take an Apolitical course, explore community articles, or anything else that aligns with your motivations.
Don't be afraid to experiment. The best way to learn is to try different things and see what works best.
Create a community of practice
Think carefully about your network or who you work with. Can you identify anyone who might be a source of information or inspiration for further developing your knowledge, skills and abilities in this area? An informal chat about their work could help bring the context to life.
Share this assessment with peers. Create a community of practice where you can discuss your outcomes and strategise which priorities might align with ongoing initiatives and objectives.
Share your knowledge with others. As you learn more about data, be sure to share what you've learned with your team. This will help to create a data-driven culture.
Familiarise yourself with the importance of ethical data practices. Share articles, blog posts, or videos about ethical data practices with your team. Lead a discussion about the importance of data ethics and how to ensure that data is used responsibly and ethically.
Explore the Apolitical Q&As — questions posed by members of the Apolitical community. Build your network by connecting with others who are starting their exploration into data. Join the discussion and respond to: What do you struggle with when using data in government?
Keep exploring
If you’re looking for inspiration for structured skill development, take a look at our Learning Plans where we have stitched together disparate educational resources into rich, diverse, cohesive and enlightening learning journeys which can have a transformative impact on both our professional and personal lives.
Apolitical articles cover a breadth of data subtopics. Take some time to explore what's out there, and consider engaging with the article creator by using the comment function. Why data literacy is a key skill for public servants or How to use data effectively in the public service could be good places to start.
Apolitical hosts events with thought leaders discussing a variety of topics — often including data. Keep an eye out for what’s upcoming, and in the meantime, you can catch up on data-centred recordings from past events such as Data Natives.
What's next?
Not sure if this is the right persona for you? This diagnostic and its suggested outcome have been designed for illustrative purposes and may not reflect your level of awareness or competency.
Find a guide to the statements covered plus the scenario questions here: Data Self-Assessment and Scenario Summaries.
Explore the other personae using the links below:
Leadership: Data Explorer, Data Consolidator, or Data Trailblazer
Non-leadership:Data Explorer, Data Consolidator, or Data Trailblazer
⬅️ Government Skills Impact Tracker | Digital and Data Skills Hub ➡️