
At The Data Lab, we’ve been lucky to collaborate with amazing partners like Joyce, the Scottish Government’s Data Innovation and Change Lead. This year, Joyce has been at the heart of some truly inspiring projects – from co-creating a vision for public sector data to working with The Data Lab to shaping events for the public sector community and supporting initiatives like the Data Science Accelerator. In her guest blog, Joyce reflects on the highs and challenges of 2024, sharing her personal journey of learning, adapting, and building connections. Her reflections remind us that collaboration isn’t always easy, but it’s always worth it. And as she looks ahead to 2025, her story inspires us to think about what we can achieve when we come together.
Given the recent press coverage about the word of the year, I’d like to offer up the word that represents 2024 for me – collaboration.
The most notable projects of the year have all had collaboration at their heart. Whether that’s collaborating with The Data Lab team to develop an events offer for their public sector community, working with the Horizon Scan group to co-create a draft vision for public sector data, or fostering collaboration between our participants and their volunteer mentors on the Data Science Accelerator – working together has been the central driving force.
Most of us in the world of work have job titles framed around the technical aspects of our roles. However, success (or failure) often comes down to how we engage with the people walking alongside us on this path.
The best outcomes come from working together. Bringing different perspectives and sectors together proved to be particularly powerful this year. Because no matter how competent any of us are in our professional role, coming together in collaboration and community allows us to achieve more than we ever could do alone. The collaboration I saw this year led to conversations, ideas, and solutions that would never have emerged had I simply forged a solo path.
However what I’ve also learned this year is that collaboration isn’t easy or straightforward. You have to get yourself into a place where you become open to letting go of control which can be challenging (especially for us public sector types). And even when you get comfortable with that, you have then help others get to that same place.
Underpinning all of this is the ability to keep an open mind. Some of this work -particularly around the vision – felt very different from the prevailing ‘how things are done around here’. I will admit that I felt that fear, but did it anyway – which brings me to life away from work which has also required collaboration and a mindset open to change. In 2023 I moved house and started to teach yoga. Now at the end of 2024 and deep into building renovations, my home life is a daily exercise in flexibility.
Living and working on a building site requires daily adaptation. Anyone who has met me online recently will have noticed an ever-changing backdrop as I move around the house to adapt to each stage of building work underway. This time has also required mental agility as I am faced with a never-ending list of decisions that have to be made as the work progresses.
Therefore the flexibility that teaching yoga engenders both in body and mind has been an essential accessory to the year. One, to be able to work in a variety of spaces, but more important is the mental flexibility that comes from teaching yoga philosophy. That practice and insight is something that both helps to keep things grounded while enabling a certain openness in thinking.
So what’s on the horizon for 2025? Well lots more opportunity for collaboration.
January sees the kick off of a project with Edinburgh University Business School which will be part of starting the process of realising the vision for public sector data. The vision for public sector data released in October represents the first step in a journey – a small but powerful starting point. This will benefit from wider challenge, input and iteration and that’s exactly what we want to happen this year. I’ve also started planning for the next Data Science Accelerator and its associated mentor programme with some new ideas for 2025. More on all of this will emerge through The Data Lab public sector community so please watch out for updates.
And as we head towards Christmas and New Year I’ll turn to Robert Burns for a final thought to close this year of collaboration:
And there’s a hand my trusty friend
And give me a hand o’ thine
And we’ll take a right goodwill draught
for auld lang syne