Hon. Victor Dominello highlights the need for robust data culture at inaugural Aristotle Metadata executive breakfast
On Wednesday, 31st July, the Fullerton Hotel in Sydney CBD played host to the inaugural Aristotle Metadata executive breakfast event, focused on enhancing data management across NSW. The gathering, which included former Minister The Hon. Victor Dominello, highlighted the critical importance of fostering a robust data culture, and showcased groundbreaking initiatives that are shaping the future of data in New South Wales.
Aristotle Metadata CEO Samuel Spencer remarked, “The data made today could be the answer to an urgent ministerial request or the most valuable insights to revolutionise your department – and you might never know it exists.”
The event addressed a pressing issue: the vast amounts of data generated daily, often managed outside formal data warehouses or catalogues. Without proper awareness and management, valuable data can remain hidden, missing opportunities for impactful insights and urgent responses to ministerial requests.
The Hon. Victor Dominello commented that, “It’s a culture change. We’ve got to invest more in data, more in digital solutions to have any chance of maintaining or improving our quality of life for thousands of generations.”
The NSW Government, in partnership with Aristotle Metadata, is leading the charge in creating an end-to-end platform that promotes a collaborative data culture. The Metadata.NSW initiative, supported by the Department of Customer Services, is revolutionising data management by enhancing data documentation and governance, and accelerating data discovery.
The success of these initiatives has fostered a cross-departmental data inventory that supports a culture of discovery and sharing, resulting in better outcomes for NSW citizens. Notable improvements include faster service delivery, enhanced policy effectiveness, and a more informed public.
The event was punctuated with data from the NSW Productivity and Equality Commission that shows that New South Wales is the only jurisdiction achieving progress in closing the gap initiatives to help Australia’s most vulnerable in our Indigenous population. This is in thanks in part to researchers having faster access to better quality data through metadata.NSW and the NSW data passport.
Former Minister Dominello commented on his time in office that he was dedicated to getting in front of problems and finding the lead indicators when it came to data. “I promised myself at that point, I would absolutely go mental on anything if I saw a paper process. I would have a war on it. Because, I wanted real-time information. So that we could make informed decisions to stop suffering, or to reduce suffering as much as we could.”
The executive breakfast highlighted the transformative potential of a collaborative data culture and the importance of decentralising data governance. By empowering teams to share and manage their data effectively, NSW is setting a new standard for data-driven governance and improved public outcomes.
