The NSW Government’s data analytics centre – ‘the DAC’ as it has come to be known – is off to a flyer with the appointment of a new advisory board to hone government’s data priorities.
Chaired by the chief information officer at the Australian Stock Exchange Tim Thurman, the board comprises nine members from government, industry and academia.
The creation of the board follows the confirmation of Ian Oppermann the state’s first Chief Data Scientist, having acted in the role in an interim capacity since the middle of last year.
NSW Innovation Minister Victor Dominello said the first-of-its-kind facility, which is presently co-located at the University of Technology, Sydney, would better enable data sharing between agencies to inform more efficient, strategic, whole-of-government evidence based decision making.
“The board will advise government on priorities and the key partnerships across industry, government and research sectors that should be forged to ensure outcomes are delivered,” Mr Dominello said.
“I am delighted to confirm Tim Thurman as chair of the board. Tim’s experience and expertise at the ASX, where he is overseeing the implementation of a $50 million digital strategy, will assist the government with the digitising of service delivery and implementation of whole-of-government innovation priorities,” he said.
- Mary O’Kane – NSW Chief Scientist and Engineer
- Michael Pratt – NSW Customer Service Commissioner
- Professor Hugh Durrant-Whyte – Director of the Centre for Translational Data Science at the University of Sydney
- Attila Brungs – Vice Chancellor and President of UTS
- Paul Cousins – Head Geospatial for Australia and New Zealand at Google
- Kate Carruthers – Deputy Director Business Analytics and Data Governance at UNSW
- Murray Hurps – General Manager of Fishburners
- Alex Scandurra – CEO of Stone and Chalk
- Ian Hill – Group Head of Innovation at Westpac
“With the calibre of Dr Ian Oppermann and Tim Thurman at the helm, I’m confident the DAC will deliver positive outcomes,” Mr Dominello said.
Board member Kate Carruthers from UNSW said the DAC is a huge opportunity for the state and that the advisory board should help extract maximum value from it.
“This is really the first time something as comprehensive as this has been tried (in this country,) Ms Carruthers said.
“It is data that’s really driving a lot of the innovation we are seeing at the moment, and this includes innovation in the delivery of better services to citizens,” she said. “The DAC is a really exciting opportunity for New South Wales.”
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