Our full range of services
Every institution’s data journey is different. Some need help understanding their current position. Others need to build the case for investment, agree a vision, develop a strategy or turn existing plans into action.
Connected provides practical support at every stage - shaped around your institution, priorities and internal capability.
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Explore our services
Market Research & Analysis
Discover a clear view of your current data landscape
Our Market Research & Analysis provides a comprehensive assessment of the current state of data within your institution.
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We help you understand how your people perceive data, the quality of your data processes and outputs, and where gaps may exist between your ambitions and current reality. This provides the evidence needed to identify priorities and inform future investment, planning and improvement.
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It can help you:
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Understand the scope of your institution’s data
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Identify data challenges, gaps and dependencies
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Understand how data is perceived across the institution
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Assess data maturity, culture, value and understanding
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Benchmark your position against other institutions
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Align future data activity with institutional objectives
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Inform your Business Case and Data Strategy
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Typical support includes:
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Review of internal documentation
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Stakeholder interviews
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Data perception and maturity assessment
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Strategic readiness assessment
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Data quality assessment
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Data Landscape Maps
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Findings and prioritised recommendations
Buisness Case Development
Define a compelling case for investing in data
You may understand the need to improve how data is managed and used, but securing investment requires a clear and credible case.
We help you articulate the challenge, demonstrate the value of change and connect investment in data to your institution’s wider strategic objectives.
The result is a clear, evidence-based Business Case that equips you to have the right conversations with decision-makers and build momentum for action.
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It can help you:
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Define your institution’s data challenge
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Explain why data should be a strategic priority
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Show how investment supports institutional objectives
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Identify the stakeholders who need to be involved
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Benchmark your position against other institutions
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Establish the costs, benefits and risks
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Demonstrate the cost of inaction
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Agree the required investment and next steps
Typical support includes:
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Definition of the challenge and opportunity
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Institutional and sector benchmarking
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Stakeholder mapping
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Benefits and return-on-investment analysis
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Cost and resource requirements
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Risk and dependency assessment
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Implementation considerations
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Recommendations and next steps
Questions the Business Case can answer
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Why data?
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Why now?
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What are other institutions doing?
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Who needs to be involved?
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What value will the investment create?
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What will it cost?
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What do we need to do?
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What happens next?
Data Vision
Create a shared vision for the role of data in your institution
A Data Vision connects your strategic ambitions with the role data needs to play in achieving them.
We help leadership teams agree what they want data to enable, how it should support institutional priorities and what good should look like in the future.
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The result is a succinct and meaningful vision that stakeholders can understand, support and articulate consistently.
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It can help you:
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Agree what your institution wants to achieve through data
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Connect data with institutional strategy
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Establish the desired data culture
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Define the principles that should guide data use
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Clarify leadership, ownership and accountability
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Align stakeholders around a shared end goal
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Connect the Business Case with the Data Strategy
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Agree the next stage of the journey
Typical support includes:
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A snapshot of the current data landscape
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Stakeholder engagement and collaborative sessions
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Definition of the purpose and value of data
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A written Data Vision
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Data principles and cultural ambitions
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Leadership and ownership considerations
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Immediate priorities and next steps
Questions the Data Vision can clarify
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What do we want to achieve through our data?
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How should data support institutional strategy?
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What values should guide how data is managed and used?
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What should our data culture look like?
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What skills and capabilities will be needed?
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How should data leadership and accountability be structured?
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What do we need to do next?
Data Strategy
Turn your Data Vision into a practical roadmap
A Data Strategy sets out how your institution will manage, govern and use data to achieve its goals.
We turn the agreed vision into a practical, measurable roadmap covering the people, processes, technology, governance and capabilities required to deliver it.
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The strategy provides a shared direction for implementation, investment and decision-making.
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It can help you:
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Translate your Data Vision into clear priorities
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Define how data will be managed and governed
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Establish the scope and priority of different data sources
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Connect data activity with institutional goals
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Clarify ownership and accountability
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Define measures of progress and success
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Plan the required capability, resources and investment
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Communicate the strategy to stakeholders
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Create a roadmap for implementation
Typical support includes:
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Collaborative strategy sessions
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Assessment of current maturity and architecture
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Strategic priorities and principles
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Governance and accountability requirements
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Data culture and capability planning
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Measures and KPIs
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Implementation roadmap
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Stakeholder communication plan
Questions the Data Strategy can answer
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Why are we making this change?
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What is our vision for data?
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What value will it create?
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What principles will guide us?
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What is within scope?
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How should our data practices align?
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How will success be measured?
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What culture and capability do we need?
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What happens next?
Implementation
Turn plans into practical action
Delivering a Data Strategy often requires additional expertise, dedicated resource or independent support.
Connected works alongside institutional teams to translate plans into action, establish effective governance and maintain momentum.
We can provide a clear implementation plan for your team to deliver or work with you throughout implementation.
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It can help you:
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Put your Data Strategy into practice
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Establish effective data governance
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Clarify roles, ownership and accountability
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Embed new processes and ways of working
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Engage and train stakeholders
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Strengthen data literacy and culture
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Monitor progress and resolve challenges
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Turn improvement into business as usual
Typical support includes:
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Strategy implementation
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Programme and project support
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Governance implementation
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Data accountability, onboarding and training
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Reporting and data management
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Stakeholder engagement
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Change and communication support
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Data quality analysis
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Specialist data expertise
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Monitoring and continuous improvement
Data Evolution
Strengthen and evolve your data capability over time
Data improvement does not end when a strategy or governance framework is launched.
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Institutions need to maintain momentum, respond to new requirements and continue strengthening how data is managed and used.
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Connected provides ongoing advice, specialist expertise and additional capacity to help you resolve immediate challenges and evolve your data capability.
It can help you:
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Identify and address governance gaps
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Respond to emerging data and reporting requirements
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Adapt to changes across the data landscape
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Strengthen internal skills and confidence
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Engage stakeholders and maintain sponsorship
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Improve data quality and reporting
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Build sustainable data communities
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Maintain and improve governance over time
Examples of typical support
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Managing HESA data flows
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Dealing with challenging data quality issues
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Agreeing how data should be named and counted for reporting
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Defining and implementing meaningful, actionable KPIs
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Data governance mentoring
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Stakeholder engagement
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Data flow visualisations
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Applying data to specific reporting requirements
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Ongoing project support
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Monitoring, evaluation and continuous improvement