UK government-led coalition calls for Smart Data use case ideas

The UK Government is leading a coalition that has called on financial services “innovators” to share their “bold” ideas for using Smart Data to benefit individuals and small businesses.

Together, the Department for Business and Trade, Challenge Works, the Open Data Institute (ODI) and Smart Data Foundry have launched the ‘Smart Data Discovery Challenge’.

The government-led coalition wants to hear from individuals, innovators, entrepreneurs, academia and civil society, who have ideas for cross-sector use of Smart Data, covering financial services, energy, retail, transport and homebuying.

The coalition identified Open Banking as an example of Smart Data “in action”.

Kevin Hollinrake, Minister for Enterprise, Markets and Small Business, said: “Smart Data has the potential to help create solutions to real-life issues that consumers face on a daily basis, as well as supporting small firms across the country and helping to grow the economy.”

He added: “Smart Data is already helping consumers via Open Banking and I am excited to see what other gamechanging technology this challenge launching today will produce from our nations’ innovators and entrepreneurs, particularly in the energy, SME finance and home buying sectors.”

The challenge will foster individual innovators and partnerships to ensure that initial ideas are developed into “feasible” concepts with the potential to move into development, supported by mentorship and guidance.

Louise Burke, chief executive officer of the ODI, added: “Innovators that take part in the Smart Data Discovery Challenge will join a community of cutting-edge and creative thinkers to help us to shape the direction of a potential Smart Data Prize in 2024.”

She urged “creative people” from across industry, academia and civil society to “join the conversation” about opening up services using Smart Data to make people’s lives better, and “enrich our national data infrastructure”.

The Smart Data Discovery Challenge’s open call for ideas runs from 26 October to 8 December 2023, from which a longlist of ideas will be selected.

The coalition will invite the most innovative cross-sector use case ideas to be pitched at a hybrid event in March 2024, with the best rewarded with cash prizes.

Find out more about the challenge and how to take part here.