NSW Govt developing data usage guidelines

The NSW Government is working on updating its digital.nsw digital government transformation portal with a suite of online resources aimed at helping agencies improve their data capability.

The new guidelines will be aimed at helping agencies find the data they need, and make it safe for others to access with anonymisation and other techniques.

In addition, the resources will help agencies navigate the government's data policy and legislation, and better understand how to effectively manage data.

The resources are being developed based on the more than 1000 responses to a data skills survey open to the state's public sector.

The survey found that 95% of respondents feel they would benefit from learning more about data as it applies to their roles. Respondents were most interested in topics including finding data, as well as using data to inform decision-making and improve services.

A beta version of the resources will be released shortly so the Department of Finance, Services and Innovation — the ministry responsible for the digital.nsw portal — can collect feedback to shape the final release.

Meanwhile, the Department of Education has developed a series of interactive online training modules based on developing content for the web that the department is making available to the digital.nsw community.

The three training modules respectively cover writing for the web, accessibility of online content and search engine optimisation (SEO).

The modules have been designed to reflect the fact that information is consumed differently online compared to in print, and web content should be tailored to consumption habits.

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