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Video transcript: Becky Collett - Data content standards

Hi, I’m helping to deliver data content standards that will help ensure government agencies describe and record New Zealand’s information in a way that’s consistent.

To ensure data is used efficiently, there should only be one way of talking about each piece of information, for example, official name, street address, or date of birth.

And that’s where data standards come in – by having one approach to collecting, managing, and using data we create consistency and that helps:

  • maximise the value of data
  • create a more complete view to inform government policy and investment decisions, and
  • enable faster and more efficient information sharing, where appropriate, with other agencies.

This saves time and money and reduces the number of times New Zealanders need to provide their information to Government.

A community of practice representing more than 30 agencies meets regularly to identify, prioritise, and develop data standards. Throughout this process we tap into specialised topic expertise to make sure we get it right.

Once developed, standards are put through their paces by an independent approval process that reviews and endorses standards to be signed off by the Government Chief Data Steward, and approved standards are freely available on data.govt.nz.

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