Stretching the musings on marketplaces in DDaT

As one who is now arms' length from all these exciting initiatives in the NHS, I was heartened to see the thinking around ecosystems a.k.a marketplaces develop; in part still thinking, in part marred by outdated cultures and in part ''let's just do something''. Then again at Eton Mess is a wonderful dessert so we are certainly getting there.

The more recent blog by AnalystX - https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/from-musings-action-building-marketplace-health-data-analytics-areuf/?trackingId=I%2FWJG%2FlKRwWwu%2Fz9q9Oe3Q%3D%3D perked my curiosity and it would be good to test a few musings.

Do we need to consider the need for a?Chief Market Architect?(CMA) for these marketplace(s) who would be responsible for:

• Developing and building the NHS Digital, Data, Analytics and Tech (DDaT) marketplace ecosystem.
• Independent from vendor takeover or friction (usual form needs to follow function; an ecosystem is simply a well co-ordinated plurality of 'things' working together - easier said than done). It's not about my favourite platform being a singularity.
• Serving as the intermediary between NHS, government, and outsiders. An ecosystem will need very sophisticated safe commercial thinking beyond existing frameworks, clinical safety and cybersecurity at its heart, and innovation at its heart. It cannot be run programmatically which is sadly the modus operandi for most initiatives.
• Creativity and openness in the operation philosophy of a unit. Not only would the CMA be responsible for technical implementation, but also for promoting a culture shift — from data as an operational cost-effectiveness to an asset of strategic value creation. Whereas I am all for governance within reason, it cannot be at the detriment of testing and scaling data, digital and tech products. In some quarters, there is still a strange mindset akin to knowledge belongs to a select few.

Keen readers would be asking...what is Suki thinking? What would this unit be called? In keeping with the letter 'D' for 'interesting' initiatives like?DOGE, what would the four-letter acronym be for this unit? My fans will smile and my anatgonists will cringe.

NHS Data Exchange & Value Lab (DEVL)

That name tells us what it is for: to bring trusted data upon which products are built to trade while creating quantifiable value. "Lab" represents a loose, experimental spirit – something very different from bureaucratic, formal organisations.

A suggested vision for this unit in our new federated world could be: "To build an open, transparent and secure NHS digital, data, analytics and tech market for clinicians, researchers and innovators who are able to create new patient outcomes through evidence-based solutions".

Perhaps a starter-for-ten list of mandates could look like:

• Governance: Develop well-defined but liberating processes for data access, integrity and revenue with privacy and security protections.
• Marketplace creation, aggregation, and management of marketplace of interoperable data products, models, and analytics services.
• Innovation Accelerator: Work with startups, universities and tech suppliers to trial and scale in NHS endorsed guardrails.
• Value pptimisation: Unlock real-world value from data — clinical knowledge, business processes or a revenue share.

I will be scouting for some great examples globally where such marketplaces thrive and continue this joint journey of learning from others on what works in effective marketplaces.