Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation Minutes - Advisory Board Meeting 1
Updated 12 October 2023
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27th October 2021
Hybrid Advisory Board Meeting
Attendees:
- Edwina Dunn - Interim Chair (ED)
- Dr Rumman Chowdhury (RC)
- Jack Clark (JC)
- Eddie Copeland (EC)
- Martin Hosken (MH)
- Jessica Lennard (JL)
- Dr Marion Oswald (MO)
- James Plunkett (JP)
- Baroness Kate Rock (KR)
- Richard Sargeant (RS)
- Dr Adrian Weller (AW)
- Dr Mimi Zou (MZ)
Guests (DCMS):
- Julia Lopez MP, Minister for Media, Data and Digital Infrastructure (MMDI)
- Phil Earl, Deputy Director for Data Strategy, Implementation and Evidence (PE)
CDEI Staff:
- Felicity Burch (FB)
- Louise Sheridan (LS)
- Sam Cannicott (SC)
- Mark Durkee (MD)
- Ghazi Ahamat (GA)
- Alexander Lawrence-Archer (ALA)
- Ben Lyons (BL)
- CDEI Team Members
Item 1: Welcome from Minister Lopez
The interim Chair introduced MMDI to the members of the advisory board, noting that she had met with MMDI earlier in the day. MMDI thanked the interim Chair for her welcome and gave the following opening remarks:
- in her previous role as a Cabinet Office minister she was very focused on enhancing data use across government to provide better services to citizens and set out her part in setting up the Central Digital and Data Office as the new strategic centre for digital, data and technology for the government;
- empowering citizens and businesses to use data responsibly and giving the UK a competitive advantage on the global stage are among her priorities;
- the CDEI and its advisory board can add value to this agenda by building trust on the ground and unpicking difficult questions around trustworthy data sharing;
- MMDI is excited to hear more about the CDEI advisory board’s diverse expertise and the CDEI’s distinct strands of work.
MMDI said she would like to stay up to date with the advisory board’s activities and was looking forward to working with the CDEI’s advisory board. MMDI left the meeting.
Item 2: Intro and Terms of Reference
The interim Chair welcomed the advisory board to the remote meeting and confirmed that there were no new interests declared. She also ran through the meeting’s agenda and set out objectives for the meeting, which were focused on giving the CDEI some initial steers about where the biggest opportunities for impact are.
LS set out a number of corporate issues, including:
- that the appointment process for a permanent Chair is ongoing and invited advisory board members’ input;
- background on the CDEI advisory board’s Terms of Reference. Advisory board members proposed a small change in the language used in the document, which was accepted.
Actions:
- CDEI team to update and publish the CDEI advisory board’s Terms of Reference.
Item 3: AI Assurance
Members of the CDEI team provided an overview of the CDEI’s work on AI assurance; which is one of the three key areas the CDEI’s 2021/22 work programme is focused on. They updated on the CDEI’s developing leadership role in building an effective AI assurance ecosystem in the UK. They discussed the upcoming publication of the CDEI’s AI assurance ecosystem roadmap, which the government committed to publishing in the National AI Strategy. It will set out the steps required to develop a mature AI assurance ecosystem and identify areas for action, such as the need to develop commonly accepted standards, and shape a diverse market of assurance providers to overcome skills gaps. The team noted that they have engaged widely whilst developing the roadmap, as well as conducted multidisciplinary research, and worked with partners in the public, private sector and academia to run pilot projects. Advisory board members were invited to reach out to the team to discuss how the CDEI can maximise its impact in this area in more detail.
Item 4: Opportunities for Impact
SC provided some context about the CDEI’s current approach to project work, focusing on our collaboration model. He noted the following as areas of focus in the CDEI’s approach:
- raising CDEI’s profile across Whitehall and demonstrating technical expertise through applied work;
- collaborating with teams across government, identifying priority projects that are focused on using data and data driven technology innovatively;
- engaging with industry and the third sector to bring different expertise and insights into CDEI’s projects.
Advisory board members were then split into smaller groups to participate in discussions on:
1. Opportunities for the CDEI - in which projects or sectors could the CDEI’s expertise and involvement be most impactful?
- much of the discussion focused on the role of good governance, with groups proposing interesting ideas around pilots, data sharing and international best practice.
- members suggested a number of potential interventions that would contribute to the government’s target of achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions.
2. Ecosystem risks - what risks exist in the wider ecosystem that the CDEI could play a useful role in mitigating?
- Members noted a number of risks for the UK tech sector. One example discussed was that the UK has extremely strong R&D and innovation but that it often fails to develop concepts to market at scale.
- Members agreed that CDEI could play a role it mitigating against ecosystem risks and that CDEI should remain a credible and influential voice to build trust, reinforce our identity by playing a clear role and continue to be transparent so that the narrative of our contribution is clear.
3. Partnership models - how can the CDEI work most constructively with different partners to help them overcome bespoke challenges?
- Themes emerging from this session were the benefits of being clear about the needs and states of readiness of partner organisations.
- The CDEI should continue to deepen its analysis of the strengths of different partnership models by sector (i.e. energy or recruitment) as well as the type of organisation (i.e. a corporate, start-up, public body or a charity).
The small groups rejoined the quorate meeting. FB said that this first conversation will guide future discussions about the specific workstreams that the CDEI will pursue in future.
Item 5: Close
The interim Chair informed the members of the advisory board meeting dates for 2022, with the first meeting being 25th January.