Interim report: An Assessment of Organisational Risk Maturity and the Communication of Risk Guidelines in the Context of Data Sharing for Care Experienced Individuals
This is one of a series of interim reports produced as part of the Information Sharing Project in collaboration with The Promise Scotland. This project has sought to understand the legal, cultural, and technical barriers to data and information sharing as it relates to care experienced children, young people, and their families across public sector agencies and organisations in Scotland.
This report was written by Datavant, with contributions from Urban Foresight and Mydex CIC. The report draws on in-depth interviews and focus groups with 30 professionals working with the data of care experienced individuals, conducted by Datavant and Urban Foresight between late 2024 and early 2025. The report focuses on organisational risk maturity and the communication of risk guidance within the care ‘system’. It examines how different organisations perceive, manage, and communicate risk in relation to data sharing, with the aim of identifying practical ways to support more confident, efficient, and safe information sharing for care experienced individuals.
The findings presented here should be read alongside insights from the other work packages, as together they contribute to a shared and evolving understanding of how data and information sharing can better support care experienced children and young people in Scotland. The full set of final project outputs is due to be published in spring 2026.
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The report highlights that while a wide range of tools, toolkits, and guidance for data sharing already exists, awareness and uptake of these resources is limited. As a result, organisations often duplicate effort by creating documentation and internal guidance that already exists elsewhere, expending time and resources without reducing risk.
Participants consistently expressed a desire for more accessible guidance, training tailored to data sharing in children’s services, and opportunities to share best practice with peers. The absence of this support contributes to inconsistent risk management approaches and can reinforce cautious or fragmented data sharing practices.
These gaps in awareness, training, and connection appear to underpin many of the risks and inefficiencies associated with current data sharing practices. The report suggests that targeted, ecosystem-wide actions, including better signposting of existing resources and stronger mechanisms for collaboration, could significantly improve practice and reduce common risks.
The findings point to a clear need for the care ‘system’ to become better connected, enabling organisations to learn from examples of leading practice and innovation already in place. Strengthening relationships, improving communication of risk guidance, and sharing proven approaches would support the system to move forward more confidently together in improving data sharing for care experienced children and young people.