Data sharing is becoming an increasingly important aspect of Scotland's public service reform agenda. The integration of children's services, health and social care partnerships, service outsourcing and community planning are just a few of the areas that should prompt organisations to ensure that good information governance processes are in place to manage data sharing risks.
On Wednesday 27 January Brodies hosted two half-day seminars run by Policy Hub Scotland entitled "Data sharing agreements - developing strong information sharing protocols and governance when working between and across agencies". The seminar, which was chaired by Alex Davidson (Chair of Scottish Adult Protection Conveners and Perth and Kinross' Adult Protection Committee), ran in the morning and was repeated in the afternoon at Brodies' new offices in Glasgow.
Christine O'Neill (Chairman of Brodies) gave an overview of the legal risks associated with data sharing and how these can be managed. This was followed by an open forum where participants discussed their experiences of data sharing and lessons learned. In his keynote address, Ken Macdonald (Assistant Commissioner for Scotland and Northern Ireland, Information Commissioner's Office) spoke about the importance of data sharing agreements as a tool for ensuring good information governance. In the final session, David Freeland (Senior Policy Officer at ICO) led a role-play exercise which allowed participants to grapple with the challenges involved when different organisations seek to create data sharing agreements.
For those of you who missed the seminars held in Glasgow, they will be repeated in two half-day sessions in Brodies' Atholl Crescent office in Edinburgh on Wednesday 16 March and in Brodies' Aberdeen office on Tuesday 10 May. You can reserve your place via Policy Hub Scotland's events website.
