The Data Profession team is excited to announce the launch of the Data Capability Framework! The Framework is one of the foundational deliverables of the profession, and we encourage everyone in the APS who works with data in some way – regardless of your current level of expertise – to use it as a guide when identifying data capability strengths, setting goals for development or planning your career in data.
The Framework enables better understanding of the data capabilities related for a range of activities, from communicating with or about data, to performing exploratory data analysis. It defines the data-specific knowledge, skills and behaviours across three proficiency levels of foundation, intermediate and advanced and provides a consistent language and structure that can guide APS agencies, employees and managers as they build data capabilities, manage workforce requirements and develop careers.
Stemming from the APS Data Professional Stream Strategy, the Framework is a connecting piece to other initiatives underway aimed at building data capability and professionalising data expertise across the APS, including:
- Data Job role development
- Learning pathways for general data literacy, and data professionals
- Data capability built into SES role descriptions
- Immersive learning experiences.
How can I use the Framework?
You can use the Framework as a tool to better understand the data capabilities relevant to your work, and when planning your development, performance, and career goals. The Framework’s Data Lifecycle View allows you to quickly identify the capabilities relevant to a role or task, providing a starting point for defining roles or capability development.
How will agencies use the Framework?
The Framework has touchpoints across several elements of the Employee Lifecycle and can be used across the following workforce development activities:
- Attraction and recruitment
- Learning and Performance
- Career development
- Engagement and retention.
Agencies can use the framework for a range of Human Resources (HR) management activities, including:
- Data capability assessment and baselining
- Mapping data capability resources and courses to the framework to inform agency and employee learning choices
- Workforce planning and mobility initiatives
- Incorporating the data capabilities into existing people capability frameworks.
How we developed the Framework
Like all Data Profession initiatives, the principle of co-design – creating with the active participation of stakeholders – has underpinned every stage of the project.
We began by assembling a cross-agency project working group with both data and HR representatives, providing a wide range of expertise and perspectives.
Through detailed research, consultation and testing, the project working group identified that the Data Capability Framework created by Stats NZ would serve as a solid baseline. We customised this for the APS context by incorporating additional themes and Data Profession requirements.
Getting involved
The Framework has been released on the APSC website as a beta version. Making it accessible as a beta enables APS agencies, managers and employees to apply it in the real world and provide feedback on the experience. We will use these insights to refine and improve the Framework to make it a relevant and enduring resource.
We would love to hear about your experiences using the Framework! You can contact the APS Data Professional Stream team via email at aps.dataprofessionalstream@abs.gov.au.