Data Ethics and Governance

Remit

The section will achieve its aims and objectives through an annual programme of meetings, participation in the conferences of the Society, communication in RSS publications (primarily Significance), a newsletter to members, and submissions to external calls for input. The remit and activities of the Section are likely to be of interest to a wide range of audiences. The section aims to be impactful in progressing forward conversations and action on data ethics and governance amongst statistical professionals and the broader public. To achieve its remit, the section will: 

• Promote good practice by addressing what good data stewardship and ethical practices look like i.e. embedding professional responsibility and consideration of ethical judgments to balance the predominant reporting of impacts 
• Support public understanding and engagement in the statistical and inferential aspects of data rather than individuals e.g. coverage, bias, models and stochastic rather than deterministic thinking 
• Champion the public interest by developing a trusted voice on data ethics, including inputting to consultation exercises, locating a suitable public profile to promote the interests and concerns of professionals 
• Coordinate data governance interests across the RSS, throughout the UK landscape, and offer international leadership, by convening and synthesising strategically 
• Lift the quality of the conversation, bringing a critical eye to the precise use of concepts and language and raising standards of transparent public engagement 
• Foster multi-disciplinary connections and the exchanging of ideas by convening those who may not see themselves within the RSS community and speaking externally 
• Engage members, and non-members, to think more broadly about the impact of new uses of data on our society, and how that affects professional responsibilities