“Really important and impactful work which improves the life of many young people.” – Judges’ comment
Fraser has always highlighted the concept of data for good and has pushed for improvements in data knowledge for young people. Prior to joining the Data for Children Collaborative, Fraser was director of DataFest – an annual festival of data innovation in Scotland – where he grew the event to more than 6,000 participants and over 70 events covering two weeks across the entirety of Scotland. Fraser also assisted in the founding of STATWARS – a pupil-centric challenge designed to encourage and support data for decision-making – which has benefitted 12,000 children across 260 schools.
Fraser has approached valuing skills and expertise and the interactions between them and converted them into real-world social impact through his role. Fraser keeps the Convention of the Rights of the Child at the forefront of all collaborators’ minds as data projects move into the technical build. Fraser adeptly ensures that the driver for the work guides decision-making.
“Easy to see that Fraser has driven change for the better.” – Judges’ comment
With a growth mindset and a deep appreciation for understanding the positive impacts of data for good initiatives, Fraser has connected with a multitude of audiences across different age groups, sectors and geographies to promote data narratives and provide support. Through his actions, Fraser has been instrumental in offering routes for organisations and individuals to contribute to and create data for good projects which has resulted in a cultural shift within data science environments to innovate responsibly for human values. Fraser has ensured that his skills in building innovative data solutions with diverse perspectives have been systematised into repeatable methodologies that can be shared with other organisations. This has seen consultancy work with other social impact organisations including the Jameel Observatory to support building data-driven solutions around food security in the Horn of Africa.
It is not easy to build collaborative teams who can work with data in a responsible, sustainable and impactful manner is not easy, but Fraser makes it happen naturally.
