£5.3 million investment to establish NISRA Data Office

Date published: 29 May 2026

On 26 May, Finance Minister John O’Dowd announced £102.6m of funding for six projects to continue to drive forward the transformation of public services. This includes an investment of £5.3m to establish the NISRA Data Office.

Its role is to help government make better use of the data it already holds to improve public services and strengthen decision-making, while maintaining a strong focus on public trust, robust governance and clear public benefit. The Data Office brings together expertise in statistics, data linkage, governance and data skills to support policy development across Northern Ireland.

The NISRA Data Office works across the NICS and wider public sector to:

• Unlock the value of existing data
• Join data safely where the legal basis exists and there is a clear public benefit
• Improve how data is used in policy and service design
• Build skills and confidence in data use
• Support openness, transparency and public trust in how data is used
• Deliver better outcomes for people, communities and public services.

£5.3m investment will deliver:

• Two Data Pathfinder projects in Education and Health to highlight the power of integrated data for policy making and address key Programme for Government priorities.
• A stronger data-driven culture in government to provide better outcomes for citizens by strengthening the data literacy, capability and confidence of policy colleagues
• Increased interoperability and wider sharing of public sector data through established legal mechanisms.

Partnership working is central to the Data Office.  We work closely with:

• Northern Ireland government departments
• Arms-length bodies and public services organisations
• Policy makers and analysts
• The public, where engagement and transparency are essential

If you would like to find out more about the work of the NISRA Data Office, please contact: dataoffice@nisra.gov.uk

Note to Editors

1. More information on the Finance Minister’s announcement on 26 May 2026 can be found at O’Dowd announces £102.6 million for transformation projects
2. The Transformation Fund is part of the £235 million provided by the UK Government for public sector transformation under the financial package to restore the Executive. Further information is available at Public Sector Transformation | Department of Finance
3. Media enquiries should be addressed to the Department of Finance Press Office on Tel: 028 9081 6724 or email dof.pressoffice@finance-ni.gov.uk
4. The Executive Information Service operates an out of hours service For Media Enquiries Only between 1800hrs and 0800hrs Monday to Friday and at weekends and public holidays. The duty press officer can be contacted on 028 9037 8110.