Big Data and the Implications for Government

Big data is more than the sum of the parts; it is about scale but also how we inter-connect once disparate data sets, and mine and analyse them. It is something that has started to make a significant impact everywhere from financial markets to supermarkets. And, as Andy Williamson explains, it is starting to become an important factor in the development of public policy and for the delivery and analysis of public services. Big data offers us powerful new ways to see the world around us but this comes with the challenges of ownership, privacy and misuse: it can be used for good or to constrain people. We have to ensure that, as the uptake of big data increases, our legislation and practice keeps pace, ensuring that mistakes and misuse are prevented.