About this guidance

This guide is for anyone (analysts or non-analysts) seeking to build a stronger, data-driven culture within their organisation by focusing on six enablers of effective analytical leadership. It draws on insights from the Office for Statistics Regulation’s report, Analytical leadership: Achieving better outcomes for citizens to illustrate both what analytical leadership is and how to achieve it. It is relevant for people across different professions and at different levels of seniority.

The guide includes an analytical leadership check-in tool for reviewing how your organisation is doing against the six analytical leadership enablers below and a reflective log to record actions that you might take to strengthen your practice.

You can consider this from an individual perspective, as a team, or as an organisation, recording areas of specific strength, and where you think improvements to analytical leadership in your organisation may be needed.

Working professionally with data and analysis used as evidence

Analytical leadership is a professional approach to working with data, analysis, and statistics. It ensures that evidence is produced and used consistently, confidently, and competently.

Effective analytical leadership ensures the right data and analyses are available for informed, effective policy- and decision-making within government. It ensures that analysts are skilled and resourced to answer society’s most important questions, and that analytical evidence is more routinely shared with the public.

Strong leadership also supports public confidence in how analytical evidence is produced and used by government, and in the government policies and decisions based on that evidence, with potential to narrow the confidence gap between those working inside and outside of government.

By applying the six enablers of analytical leadership alongside a commitment to ensuring Trustworthiness, Quality and Value – a ‘Think TQV’ approach – everyone in government can demonstrate analytical leadership when working with data, analysis or statistics used as evidence. TQV are the core principles of the Code of Practice for Statistics which provides a universal framework for statistical best practice.

The six enablers of analytical leadership

Over the next six pages you will be guided through understanding the six enablers of analytical leadership.