Nov 2024 updates
Introduction
Cheese, Data and a Dash of Independence
(Inspired by Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson)
This month’s theme of the AnalystX newsletter is inspired by a really powerful story. It may also reflect the desire to create the next series of Harry Potter: Magic or Illusion of Data (that is such a bad dad joke…bear with us)
?There was a time, somewhere, in a huge complex health system, where five characters found themselves trying to navigate their way through the swamp of data and decisions. Each dealt with uncertainty in ways that said more about them than about the problem itself. In a new era – in which the dream to federate decision making through improved data use is here – they joined forces, then split, and learned lessons about how to navigate the maze of healthcare data and governance.
Sniff: The Watchful Scout?
Sniff had the ability to feel changes before they were in. The promise in data to enable good decisions across the health system hit him at a very early stage. Each time the update came, he would slow down, look forward, and calculate how it might change the map. But Sniff saw the dangers, too. One that was supposed to be centralisable might, if left untethered, undermine local agency and innovation. He had the vision, but he also had the wisdom of discernment and watchfulness, not wanting to rush in uninformed about how each wheel would go. It was a waiting and preparing that led Sniff through the data labyrinth. He kept the team on their toes, asking critical questions and ensuring no one lost sight of the future’s implications. As he quietly watched the data maze unfold, Sniff knew that spotting potential forks in the road early would be key to embracing the changes on the horizon without sacrificing independence.
Scurry: The Doer
Scurry thrived on momentum, darting forward with boundless energy. The idea of data-driven decision-making lit a fire within; he couldn’t wait to have the tools and see results. Where others slowed, Scurry accelerated, determined to put data to work and solve problems. But Scurry wasn’t always on time, sometimes. As he rushed to use the tools that were offered, he didn’t consider the larger picture — how a single model would limit option for local teams. Yet Scurry was undeterred.? His energy drew people together and showed them what data could do. Every sprint down a hall, every new discovery, showed that we could move. More and more into the labyrinth, Scurry came to realise that acceleration needed an opponent. He might be able to act fast, but then he’d need to balance that with vision, or he’d be closing off local innovation.
Hem: The Cautious Sceptic
Then there was Hem, who looked at the data maze differently. It was for him the twist on an old hat. Hem saw the power of data, and, like Sniff, thought it worthwhile. But the thought of choices influencing from the periphery scared him. He embraced regional wisdom, first-hand experience of frontline colleagues, and was concerned that the single focus on centralisation might lose the particulars that each place possessed. Hem shuddered, not knowing what had changed and imagining the labyrinth was going to be a trap, not a path. Yet in his doubts, Hem’s caution held the team together and taught them the value of independence and trust. He didn’t move fast, but he did insist on a system that gave local teams the freedom to experiment within the larger labyrinth. Hem’s was a resilient movement, one in which even in a federated order, local voices were not left out.
Haw: The Optimistic Adapter
Haw had his fair share of first scepticism but soon discovered the labyrinth as an opportunity. He had some of Hem’s fears, but Haw would embrace the data, and see it as an opportunity for development and collaboration. He weaved his way through the labyrinth with slow faith, treading slowly while also drawing others into the possibility of sharing what he could learn.? But Haw was also well aware of maintaining system locality. His was a journey of excitement and strategic adaptation, of urging protections so that all the different wings of the system would have their own strategy. He saw in the federation of decision-making the possibility to bring together nations, as long as freedom was built into its DNA. His was a labyrinth-walk of tacit reluctance, of seeing the world not from a closed-off position.
Thrive: The Ecosystem Builder
And then there was Thrive, a new character who thought data was about connection, not mastery. Thrive thought of the maze differently: not as a single route but a series of pathways in which partnerships could flourish. Thrive didn’t move around in the labyrinth, they opened up doors, and opened up spaces for different voices, technologies and viewpoints to inhabit a rich ecosystem. Thrive knew that there shouldn’t be a single route that would prevail; rather, there should be a set of routes where each region, each stakeholder could share their expertise in the shared whole. Thrive looked forward, one step at a time, for partners to bring new tools and concepts to the labyrinth while insisting on sharing ideas and supporting each other. Thrive’s idea was clear: federation doesn’t require centralisation, it requires empowerment, and should allow all parts of the health system to succeed independently but also be part of a larger project.?
When Sniff, Scurry, Hem, Haw and Thrive all walked the labyrinth together, they realised that there wasn’t a final destination. Rather, it was about building a system of federations of choices that valued the public good and the individual qualities of each wing. When they mixed Sniff’s prediction, Scurry’s passion, Hem’s prudence, Haw’s hope and Thrive’s ecosystem-building, they managed to get it just right.
They all realised the journey wasn’t about using data-tools – it was about creating a system where creativity, freedom and coordination could live side by side. The labyrinth might be difficult, but in the right hands it could be transformed into a space where every voice and every thought was heard in the service of improved health.
#DataHealthCare #GreenHealthCare #NationalHealthCare #HealthTechnology #HealthTransformation #CooperativeHealthCare #InnovationInHealthcare #MakingDecisions #SmartHealth #DigitalHealth?
We would love your perspectives too on our parable and whilst we brace ourselves for your reactions, let us see what the world of AnalystX has been up to this month.
AnalystX update:
Workforce professionalisation :
?Work has started on the competency definitions of the new roles: Machine Learning Engineer, Analytics Engineer, Data Ethicist and Data Governance Manager. There are still opportunities to be involved in these workshops, provide feedback on the draft competencies, or be involved in the testing of the framework, please contact [email protected]
We are also launching a review of the existing framework content. You will have your chance to feedback suggested changes and additions to Data Analyst, Data Scientist, Data Engineer, Specialisms, Working in Projects, Leadership & Management and Behaviours. Running from the 4th November to the 1st December, follow this link to provide your feedback. https://forms.office.com/e/VqrC7scAAg
Huddles:
Join Dona Reddiar, Maureen Ng’etich and Nimat Umaru from HDRUK in our next huddles on - Health Data Science Black Internship Programme 2025?????
as a host organisation for the fifth year of our national internship programme addressing the underrepresentation of Black people within health data. This huddle will discuss the holistic nature of the programme, some of the impact so far and the support we provide to our host organisation partner
our huddle sign up form - here
Communities update:
Data viz and BI community
Sonu Mittal Alistair Bullward Rozanne Addams Farhad Hossen
We are a tool agnostic?community.?Our?community?is open to anyone who is working in Healthcare, Data, Analytics,?BI?and?Viz?space. We believe that together we can help each other to overcome our challenges?and?to achieve our goals. The purpose of the?community?is to
?Membership:?
Meet-ups are every 6 weeks for an hour.
?For?further information?please contact: [email protected], [email protected]
Upcoming trainings?update:
?We are working on to arrange trainings for PowerBI, SQL?and?basic statistical concepts. If you would like to present, then please give us a shout?and?we will arrange it.
?
Data Engineering Community of practice
We’ve got lots of exciting, events scheduled over the coming months:
And a few more in the pipeline.
Thanks to everyone for completing the questionnaire, we’ll feed back what we’ve found.
Our data engineering steering group would like to hear from our data and analytics colleagues to refine our deliveries. Please complete the questionnaire here
Federated Data Platform
Over 90 NHS England analysts and data scientists gathered at a special event in Leeds to discover how they can make the most of all that the NHS Federated Data Platform (NHS FDP) has to offer.???
Held on 22 October at the Accenture office in Leeds, the NHS FDP launch event was the first event in the North of England for Analysts and Data Scientists who will be working on a wide variety of national products.??
Delegates heard how they have a key role to play in the NHS FDP, which represents a major strategic shift in the way that the NHS can use data to transform the delivery of healthcare services.???
Keynote speakers??
The event featured a series of keynote speakers from NHS England including Emmi Poteliakhoff MBE (Interim) Deputy Chief Data and Analytics Officer and Ayub Bhayat Director of Data Services, who shared an inspiring 10-year vision for a data enabled NHS and the benefits that will bring to patients, clinicians, systems and partners.
Another highlight was a presentation by senior analytical manager, Lara Dearing, who shared her key insights on her journey as a data analyst.?
Delegates gained an insight into the opportunities to learn, explore and build on the Workspaces on the NHS FDP. Michael Williams, Assistant Director of Architecture, shared how analytical workspaces can be setup on request to enable analysts to carry out exploratory and ad-hoc tasks.?
Lara Evans, Assistant Director of Data Platform Delivery talked about the Analytical Landing Page and the NHS FDP Front Door process that has been developed for analysts who need to create a bespoke workspace, or a product that they want to build and share more widely with Integrated Care Systems and Trusts.??
Palantir’s NHS FDP Programme Lead Cameron Craig introduced the Centre of Excellence which will be pivotal in supporting analysts and data scientists on their NHS FDP journey offering opportunities for collaboration and sharing best practice. There was also a spotlight on the Solution Exchange tenant - a workspace with synthetic data where users can learn more about NHS FDP.?
Breakout sessions?
In addition to the keynote speeches, the event offered four breakout sessions where participants could try out the NHS FDP capabilities, guided by Palantir experts. Topics ranged from Building data pipelines, Dashboarding/Contour, Data Modelling and Using Large Language Models (LLMs).??
Networking Opportunities?
The event also provided networking opportunities allowing attendees to connect and discuss potential collaborations.??
Positive feedback?
Feedback from participants was positive, with many expressing excitement about the NHS FDP’s potential to transform their analytical capabilities. Thank you to all those who attended.??
?“It was a great opportunity to network and get together with other analysts, especially as we are now part of a larger organisation with lots of colleagues we don't know,” said Katie Tither, Senior Analytical Manager, Operational Insights – Diagnostics.?
“The event was a good mix of speakers, breaks for networking and I liked the style of hands on used in some of the sessions. It worked well for the sessions where the first half was a demo/speaker, followed by the opportunity to work on some practical/interactive examples. The location was also convenient given its proximity to Wellington Place. Speakers and others helping with the event all seemed very knowledgeable, approachable and helpful,” adds Katie.
For Chris Parkin, Senior Analytical Lead, Clinical Improvement Analytics, the chance to get an overview of the strategy for the FDP was great, as well as discuss it with other colleagues. “The LLM session was great, and I can see the power of using the pipeline builder so they were my two favourite sessions,” said Chris.??
Further information?
领英推荐
For more updates on the latest NHS FDP developments, subscribe to the NHS England ? NHS Federated Data Platform (FDP) bulletin.?
A guide is available here to help analysts access the NHS FDP. Once in NHS FDP, analysts can access the Centre of Excellence where they can sign up to webinars and events.?
?
Process mining community
Our Process mining community of practice is now live, if you are looking for networking with practitioners using process mining, learning about projects being used in that area or simply want to learn about this analytical technique, you will be able to access all the information -
?
NHS-R and NHSE-R
We have changed the way to sign up to NHS-R Coffee and Code Sessions.
Go to ?Coffee and Coding (nhsrcommunity.com)?and select the meetings you wish to attend.
Coffee and Code is a great place to ask questions around R, get help and advice, see what the community is up to, show your work off, seek collaboration or just find out what all the fuss is about.
Contributions and suggestions are always welcome.
For further info contact [email protected]
?
Generative AI working group.
Tom Bartlett Jonathan Pearson
?To learn more about our Gen AI use cases and example, or if you would like to join our team, please visit Generative AI - AnalystX - FutureNHS Collaboration Platform
To sign up for future events for the Gen AI working group, please use this form.
Strategic partners events and updates:
HDRUK
Just launched: HDR UK’s new and improved home for health data science eLearning
?
Cambridge spark
Registration for the last data & AI apprenticeship cohorts of 2024 will be closing on 25th October. For more information visit?here or visit the Cambridge spark futureNHS page - here
?
ESRI UK
Facts and Dimensions:
We are privileged to work with Facts and Dimensions to provide basic sql training to all our members, for course material , how to register and future courses, please visit the Facts and dimensions - AnalystX - FutureNHS Collaboration Platform
?
Public Policy Project
Public Policy Projects (PPP) have recently launched an impactful report covering the findings from the Integrated Care Delivery Forum – Spring conference in Birmingham. If you have an interest in up-to-date insights on the sector, check out the insights from PPP's Spring Forum.
The next Integrated Care Delivery Forum – Autumn event will feature over 50 expert speakers, including ICS leaders, NHS stakeholders, and community representatives. Join us to foster collaboration and innovation in integrated care.
Learning and development opportunities for NHS staff
Below is a list of strategic partner academies with free learning for NHS colleagues.
Snowflake
?
Microsoft
?
Databricks
?
Celonis
?
Oracle Academy
Special thanks to all our AnalystX supporters:
Ming Tang Ayub Bhayat Emmi Poteliakhoff MBE Ed Kendall Sukhmeet Panesar Alex Cheung Janet BroomeBenjamin Tucker Rowan Bradnum Danny Silk Lauretta Anderson Peter Rodgers Steve Adams Aslam AtchaTilly Allen Abigail Leachman Hugh Neylan Sarah Culkin Ian Townend Shabs (Shabbir) Lorgat Steve FaroSarah BlundellSamantha Menot Paul Reid Paul Parker Hassan Chaudhury Alex Lawrence Robert WalkerElisa Anastasi Dr Mustafa Ghafouri Tristi Tanaka Leontina Postelnicu James Aitman Simon Wellesley-MillerCharlotte Lewis Angela McFarlane Rony Arafin Rosalind Way Libby Duane Adams Sukhmeet Panesar Ruth Holland Steven Totman Lauren Chadwick Filipe Santos Filipe Gracio, PhD Filipe McManus Mark BaileyTiffany Young Phillip Akers Chris Howarth Christine Banks Chris Habberley Karina Gajewska Kwesi AffulMark Shill David Bibbs Chris Love Zo? Turner Chris Mainey Emma Karoune nicola troup Liam Mahon MScNorth West Skills Development Network Skills Development Network Yorkshire & Humber Branch Skills Development Network North East and North Cumbria
?
?
Thank you for this Alex Cheung! As always its super informative and fun too! Also wanted to ask where do people go to join in with the DE COP huddles?