Gavin Freeguard is an independent data consultant. He advises on research, policy and advocacy work relating to data, data visualisation, information, media, digital and government. Until 2020, he was the Programme Director for data and digital government at the Institute for Government (IfG), the UK’s leading thinktank working to make government more effective.

At the Institute, he led and developed the organisation’s flagship Whitehall Monitor project which analyses and visualises the size, shape and performance of central government in the UK. He also supported colleagues across the organisation to use data more effectively, created the Data Bites event series (which he continues to run as an associate of the IfG), and led much of the IfG’s recent work on digital government.

Gavin has also worked at the highest level of British politics as political adviser on culture, media and sport to Rt Hon Harriet Harman QC MP and the shadow Cabinet (2012-13), specialising in media policy, and at the Media Standards Trust (2007-12), where his main job was building the Orwell Prize into an organisation. He is a member of the UK Open Government Network Steering Group, HM Treasury’s Government Financial Reporting User and Preparer Advisory Group, and the Office for Statistics Regulation public good of statistics research advisory group; a trustee of the Orwell Foundation; and a former member of the ESRC’s Administrative Data Research UK research commissioning board.

Gavin is also an accomplished facilitator, chair and host. He is working on a book about data, and compiles Warning: Graphic Content, a weekly newsletter on data and data visualisation.

Ask Gavin about:

· Data policy

· Data visualisation

· Open data and open government

· Digital government