Ethical data stewardship at Gloucestershire County Council

Gloucestershire County Council has taken a structured, practical approach to embedding data ethics across the organisation. By pairing a clear public commitment with practical tools, senior leadership endorsement and sustained workforce engagement, the council has begun to embed ethical thinking into everyday data and intelligence practice, supporting better decision making, trust and accountability, particularly in sensitive service areas such as children’s services.

A few years ago, Gloucestershire County Council identified an emerging gap around data ethics. This was recognised both by the council’s Data and Analysis team and information governance colleagues, prompting early conversations about how ethical considerations could be more explicitly addressed alongside existing legal and governance frameworks.

Recognising the need for specialist capability, a nominated officer undertook formal data ethics training with the Open Data Institute (ODI). This helped establish a shared understanding of data ethics as a practical discipline, focused not only on compliance but on the real-world impacts of data use on individuals and communities.

Following this, a small cross-disciplinary working group was formed to consider how data ethics could be operationalised across the organisation, moving it beyond theory and into day-to-day analytical, research and service design activity.

At the heart of Gloucestershire’s approach is a publicly available Ethical Data Stewardship Commitment, setting out the council’s principles for using data responsibly across its full lifecycle, from collection and use through to storage and disposal. Making the commitment public was a deliberate step to build transparency and trust with residents, while also reinforcing organisational accountability.

The council adopted the ODI Data Ethics Canvas as its core ethical assessment tool. The canvas was chosen because it’s free, comprehensive and easy to use, enabling teams to have structured ethical conversations as part of routine analytical, research and service design work.

Proposals were taken first to the Information Governance Board, then refined and escalated to Corporate Leadership Team (CLT). Following initial concerns about burden, the approach was piloted for six months with a small group of analysts who regularly worked with data-intensive projects. This trial surfaced clear evidence that ethical assessment improved the quality of dashboards, research and analytical outputs, helping secure full senior endorsement.

The ethical framework is now embedded through multiple routes:

• alignment with the council’s Data and Intelligence Strategy
• integration into existing governance processes, including Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs), research governance and procurement
• use of established information governance roles (in particular, information asset owners) to avoid creating entirely new responsibilities
• a dedicated internal data ethics hub on the staff intranet.

Embedding consideration of data ethics has led to clear improvements in the quality, safety and credibility of data use across the council.

In several cases, ethical assessment has enabled teams to identify potential issues at an early stage, allowing projects to be adjusted before harm could occur. This preventative approach has strengthened confidence in analytical outputs and reduced risk in complex or sensitive work.

One of the most significant impacts has been stronger engagement with people whose data is being used. In children’s social care, for example, the council engaged directly with children in care and care leavers on a project focused on improving placement stability.

Feedback from these lived-experience groups highlighted that data often focused heavily on negative experiences, prompting teams to rebalance datasets to provide a more rounded and respectful view. Participants were able to see how their feedback directly shaped analysis and recommendations, strengthening trust and participation.

Ethical reflection has also improved how data is presented and interpreted. Officers are now more likely to question language used in dashboards, indicators and data fields, reducing bias and the risk of misinterpretation. This has led to more thoughtful use of flags, labels and categories, particularly where data related to vulnerable individuals.

Gloucestershire has focused on sustained engagement rather than one-off policy launches. This includes:

• regular data ethics training sessions delivered at team away days, service workshops and organisational skills events
• use of service-specific examples and scenarios to make ethical considerations tangible and relevant
• ongoing support from information governance colleagues, reinforcing the link between legality and ethical judgement.

Consideration of ethics is increasingly becoming part of business-as-usual practice, with officers more confident raising ethical questions as part of their normal data work.

The council also recognises ethical data use as including consideration of the environmental impact of data storage, retention and resource intensive digital tools, reinforcing alignment with broader corporate sustainability ambitions.

Key learning points from Gloucestershire’s experience include:

• partner early with information governance to build credibility and leverage existing governance structures
• secure senior leadership sponsorship, and be prepared to pilot and demonstrate value first as needed
• resource the role properly – progress can slow when data ethics sits as a small part of wider roles, so dedicated capacity (for example a named lead with protected time) is critical to maintaining momentum
• invest in engagement and training – real examples and face-to-face discussion are critical to behaviour change
• learn from others – connecting with peers across local government avoids starting from a blank page.

Embedding data ethics is a long-term journey, but Gloucestershire’s experience shows that practical tools, visible leadership support and persistence can make ethical data use a reality rather than an aspiration.

For councils interested in learning more about Gloucestershire’s approach contact: [email protected]