Sharing information and big data

In light of the Children and Young People Act which has been passed in the Scottish Parliament and the implications for children and families regarding their personal informatiom held in various datasets, it is interesting to review what the Scottish Government had to say about ecare in 2008.

                                                                        ecare programme

A significant development over the next few years will be the new version of the national eCare framework that will further support information sharing. The existing framework already supports controlled messaging of information about child protection issues, and is being rolled out across Scotland in 2009. The next version of the framework is being developed in parallel, to support electronic sharing of information about children and young people to aid decision making surrounding their needs. The system is also being designed to ensure strictly controlled access to information, yet give ready access to those practitioners who need to know who else may be involved with a child or young person. More information on the development of the eCare framework is available on the Scottish Government Data Sharing and Standards website.

In the future, practitioners will be expected to record information using shared language, structured around a standard practice model, sharing key relevant information through the eCare framework. 

A guide to getting it right for every child (2008)

It is also interesting to read and hear Professor Alex `Sandy` Pentland, from MIT, and his pontifications about the potential that Big Data has for re-shaping society.

 We're going to end up reinventing what it means to have a human society.
ALEX 'SANDY' PENTLAND
Re-inventing society in the wake of big data

Please watch the video on the website where most of the motivations about Big Data are discussed by Alex ``Sandy` Pentland.