Annex: Further guidance

Where else can I look for guidance on transparency?

The OSR offers specific guidance on the following topics:

• Publishing, pre-announcing and labelling statistics: OSR’s regulatory guidance on publishing official and National statistics. The guidance includes information on publishing ad hoc releases.
• Models: OSR’s Guidance for Models provides information on how the principles in the Code can support good practice and transparency in designing, developing and using models. The guidance covers traditional statistical techniques and newer techniques including machine learning.
• Evaluation: OSR’s explainer on how the Code can help support evaluation highlights that users and the intended use should be at the centre of the evaluation. Published data and analysis should be made equally available to all, being open about the nature of the evaluation and how it serves the public good.
• Leadership: OSR published its review of Statistical Leadership: Making Analytical Insight Count in February 2021, which looked at how statistical leadership can be strengthened across governments. Statistical leadership can help ensure the right data and analysis exist, that they are used at the right time to inform decisions, and that they are communicated clearly and transparently in a way that supports confidence in the data and decisions made on the basis of them.

The Government Social Research: Publication protocol details five principles that should be adhered to in the publication and release of all government social research products. These are consistent with the Code of Practice for Statistics. It clearly sets out how social research conducted by or for government should be released; who should be responsible for the release; the timing of the release and the independence of the research.

While the guidance referred to in this document primarily relates to analytical professions, the key principles and thinking apply to many settings and professions. In the recent Declaration on Government Reform, Government committed to ensuring “all data is as open as possible to public and third parties”.