Data Skills Self-Assessment Tool

Welcome to the Data Skills Self-Assessment

Our self-assessment tool helps you understand your organisational and technical readiness with respect to data, and signposts you to relevant resources and training.

Through a series of multiple-choice questions, we will explore your organisation's use of data, culture and leadership with respect to data, and your current skills capability. We expect the questionnaire to take around 15 minutes to complete.

We will ask you to answer questions from your perspective, and based on your current understanding of the organisation.

All responses to this self-assessment questionnaire are completely anonymous and will not be stored. Once you have completed the questionnaire, you will be provided with a unique web link which will allow you to recover your self-assessment results and recommendations at any time.

Use of Data

The following questions concern your current use of data.

There are 8 questions in this section.

What kinds of analytic work does your organisation currently undertake?

I do not understand / I do not know.

We typically use data about what happened in the past and verbal accounts of what's happening for decision making.

We might use past and current data for decision making with some simple trends analysis.

We monitor what's happening in the present as well as past trends. Some exploratory forward-looking research and predictions.

We use past, present and forward looking data for business planning and decision making.

How does data inform decision-making in your organisation?

I do not understand / I do not know.

Decision making is driven by gut feeling and past experience, rather than data.

Data is mostly sought out and used to support and evidence what the organisation already believes or knows.

Specialist staff in some teams are starting to use data to ask difficult questions about the organisation.

The organisation is comfortable using data to ask difficult and complex questions, to challenge practices and preconceived notions about the past and future.

How are leaders using data for business planning?

I do not understand / I do not know.

Our business plan does not currently consider the role and value of data.

Our business plan has some defined and measurable targets, though data collection/analysis may not align.

We ask the right questions of our data, which are aligned to overarching business plan and desired impact.

We fully understand how to use data to improve what the organisation does. Data drives questions and we are influenced by what data tells us.

How does your organisation make use of external and open data?

Sources of external and open data can be used to improve organisational decision making and processes. To learn more about open data, a guide by The Open Data Institute is available here.

I do not understand / I do not know.

No external data sources are used.

Occasional use of external information sources relating to the wider context of the organisation's work.

Open data is occasionally used in some teams/departments.

Regular use of valuable open/public data sets.

To what extent is data re-use across the organisation supported?

I do not understand / I do not know.

Data isn't regarded as meaningful or useful beyond meeting legal/financial compliance.

Data is becoming richer and more versatile, but tends to reside in silos.

Rich, versatile, re-usable data for multiple purposes and audiences, with strong integration and alignment between systems.

How confident is your organisation in the consistency and quality of its data?

I do not understand / I do not know.

Limited data (if any) is collected. It is not checked for validity or accuracy.

Data collection is patchy and inconsistent. Data is rarely updated and cleaned.

Data collected is reviewed to assess how meaningful, relevant and useful it is, though some errors remain.

Data requirements defined and consistently collected. The organisation tests how meaningful, relevant and useful the data is.

The organisation knows its data is meaningful, relevant and useful. Very high levels of confidence and trust in data quality.

How confident is your organisation in the trustworthiness of its data?

I do not understand / I do not know.

Mixed levels of confidence and trust in data.

Knows how good or bad its data sets are; and knows which data sources can/can't be trusted.

Data is monitored for quality including completeness, accuracy, and validity. Tools and systems exist for cleaning and maintenance.

How are data assets recorded?

Data assets refer to a system, application output file, document, database, or web page.

I do not understand / I do not know.

Nobody is aware or interested in the data assets in the organisation.

We know where most data is, but there may be more.

Data assets are known but not formally recorded.

We have recorded lists of all data assets.

A full inventory of data assets is maintained, with data dictionary, clear ownership, review periods, and development plans for each.

Tools

This section will explore how data is stored in your organisation, and the tools and infrastructure used to support data analysis.

There are 4 questions in this section.

Where and how is data stored?

I do not understand / I do not know.

Data is stored inconsistently, if at all. Data mostly held on paper or in spreadsheets.

Basic database, spreadsheets and paper used for recording data.

Data are held in appropriate databases (or other technologies), which are accessible by expert users.

How best describes the tools used to analyse data?

I do not understand / I do not know.

Tools are not available or are not fit for purpose.

Tools are limited. (They may not be up-to-date, don't meet current needs, may not be documented or supported).

Advanced tools, e.g. R, SAS, SPSS, Python, are being used for basic data processing or descriptive statistical analysis.

Advanced tools are being used for sophisticated analysis in some departments, e.g. R, SAS, SPSS, Python, etc.

How are data sources integrated across the organisation?

I do not understand / I do not know.

There is little data integration. Data systems are used as operational rather than analytical stores. Likely to be one off purchases/builds with limited flexibility for growth, change or improvement.

Joining data or analysis across teams requires manual exporting and re-stitching.

Some integration is beginning to occur between systems, with automated/aligned reporting e.g. basic use of business intelligence tools.

Tools are able to access internal and external data directly, for both experts and non-expert users.

Systems are established and have the capacity to store, manage, and analyse increasingly large volumes of data.

How best describes the organisation's investments in data tools?

I do not understand / I do not know.

No planned investment in any tools, systems or infrastructure.

Occasional major investment in new tools and integrations.

Most tools are up-to-date with support available. Work-arounds understood and replacements planned for poorer tools.

Ongoing investment in developing and improving tools, systems and infrastructure. Analytical infrastructure is a priority.

Culture and Governance

This section will explore organisational culture relating to the sharing, governance, and strategic use of data.

There are 6 questions in this section.

Who takes ownership for data within the organisation?

I do not understand / I do not know.

Nobody is interested in data. Data is only accessible to a single person or team, usually junior staff.

Data is seen as the responsibility of 'someone else'. We recognise that data should be collected but it is not seen as a whole-team activity.

Data is starting to be recognised as important at a more senior level. You are beginning to ask more challenging questions of the data.

Data is seen as a team effort and a critical asset for every part of the organisation.

How would you describe the level of leadership's data awareness and investment?

I do not understand / I do not know.

Not interested and do not invest in data and analytics.

Some awareness, but leadership generally don't see the value. Little investment in developing analytic capability.

Know data is important, but not entirely convinced. Invest small amounts.

Leadership value, plan and prioritise data as a vital organisational resource.

Leadership invest substantially in continuously improving data collection and alignment of analysis.

Does your organisation have policies relating to data and its governance?

I do not understand / I do not know.

We don't have policies related to data.

Basic policies for data protection and security are in place but not monitored or enforced.

Data protection and security policies are in place. Access to data limited by default (rather than design).

Data protection and security policies and practices are well established.

To what extent is the organisation aware of the ethical implications of its use of data?

I do not understand / I do not know.

Ethical implications are not currently considered.

There is some awareness of ethical uses of data within the organisation.

There is widespread understanding of ethical practice in relation to data.

The organisation has established policies concerning the ethical use of data.

The organisation's policy covering data ethics is engaged with, and its recommendations adhered to.

How are data and insights shared internally?

I do not understand / I do not know.

Data requirements are seen as a chore and data is rarely shared internally or externally.

The organisation's culture does not support data sharing across teams, though this may occur occasionally verbally or via reports.

People would like to share more but are constricted by access / permissions / barriers.

Internal openness and data sharing are fundamental to the culture, subject to data protection and security.

How are data and insights communicated externally to the organisation?

I do not understand / I do not know.

No data or insights are shared externally to the organisation.

Some data insights are shared with partners and in the public domain.

Data insights and evidence are publicly available. Extensive data sharing, with protocols in place with partners, networks, stakeholders to address shared problems and solutions. Data may be shared with beneficiaries as part of service/support.

Skills

This section will explore internal data skills capacity, and access to knowledge and expertise in your organisation.

There are 4 questions in this section.

How would you describe general data literacy within your organisation?

I do not understand / I do not know.

Little or no internal skills, training or expertise.

Data literacy is patchy, mostly low, amongst staff.

Fairly regular use of external support and advice, mostly around specific tools, systems or projects with some skills development.

Ongoing use of advanced external expertise. Regular engagement in learning.

Becoming the experts that others use as a resource.

How would you describe the level of data experience among leadership?

I do not understand / I do not know.

No data or analytics experience or understanding.

Limited data and analytics experience and expertise.

Learning through experience, building adequate skills.

Data champion within senior management. We are addressing skills gap in leadership as a whole.

Range of people with data analytics expertise in leadership, including at Board level.

How would you describe the current availability of analytic capability?

I do not understand / I do not know.

We lack the data skills we need in-house in some or many key areas.

We have access to most of the data skills we need in-house or are easily able to outsource the support we require.

The organisation offers data skills training for a range of different applications and toolsets.

The number of data analysts (or similar role) is sufficient to meet the analytic demands of the organisation.

The organisation has invested in tools and systems that have helped to augment the analytic capacity of the organisation.

Data analysts (or similar roles) are often embedded in other teams (e.g. delivery or strategy) and/or secondments are regularly arranged to encourage closer working relationships.

Is appropriate data literacy training made available in the organisation?

I do not understand / I do not know.

There is little data literacy training available.

Basic data literacy training is available for reporting roles.

There is adequate data literacy / responsibility across the organisation.

There is some investment in more advanced skills development.

All staff are trained in data skills with high levels of data literacy across the organisation. Specialist staff regularly update skills and knowledge.