Data Ethics Framework
The Data Ethics Framework guides appropriate and responsible data use in government and the wider public sector.
Description
The Data Ethics Framework guides appropriate and responsible data use in government and the wider public sector. It helps public servants understand ethical considerations, address these within their projects, and encourages responsible innovation.
This guidance is aimed at anyone working directly or indirectly with data in the public sector, including data practitioners (statisticians, analysts and data scientists), policymakers, operational staff and those helping produce data-informed insight.
Teams should work through the framework together throughout the process of planning, implementing, and evaluating a new project. Each part of the framework is designed to be regularly revisited throughout your project, especially when any changes are made to your data collection, storage, analysis or sharing processes.
Questions in each section will guide you through various ethical considerations in your project. Record your answers to create a data ethics assessment. The self-assessment scoring scale is designed to help you identify which aspects of your project need further work.