During its first active financial year ending in December 2024, the company began laying the foundations for the creation of a place-based community data trust. The point of this is to build an organisation with a trustworthy and transparent governance structure that will enable data about the people and the place to be used as an asset for and by the community. This is a long-term project that requires significant capacity building and raising of awareness for its potential to be realised. Much of the effort in the first year has been geared towards reinforcing and expanding the company’s networks locally and in the wider region, as well as maintaining connections with other organisations working in the broader field of data for social good. The company has engaged with the community through the workshops, exhibitions and events it has organised and coordinated during the year. We also contributed to a panel discussion with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) on the role of Data Intermediaries and we co-convened a round table event with participants from DSIT, the Charity Commission, academics and practitioners to explore governance issues for data trusts. We are building partnerships with the regional universities in Plymouth and Exeter, the local authority and South Devon College, (the local further education college), in order to increase our capacity to deliver services and develop the data ecosystem for our community. We are working with Plymouth University on a project focusing on the live streaming of data. This will enable us to explore issues around the secure and effective use of data with the community, loan equipment to groups and individuals, and provide digital infrastructure support. We are developing ways to engage our community and grow a deeper understanding of data management through ‘soft’ data projects like ‘Brixham’s Missing Pieces’. This is a collective heritage data project which supports members of our community to research, and gather stories and photographs about Brixham’s listed buildings. We provided two days of free photographic workshops, with technical support and equipment provided by FotoNow CIC, talks from Historic England and the owner of a one of Brixham’s 213 listed buildings. This project, supported by Historic England, is ongoing. We are using Historic England’s existing software platform to build and manage a database for the community’s cultural heritage. During the year we have also engaged with stakeholders in the community’s fishing industry, where data flows are an integral part of their activities. We have used data ecosystem mapping tools to visualise the complex data ecosystems around the fishers and can use this work as a bridge to future development work with the wider community around data empowerment issues.

Although no formal stakeholder consultation was carried out during this period, we have engaged informally with members of our community through day-to-day interactions and service delivery. Feedback received has been noted and has already influenced our planning. We are currently developing a more structured stakeholder consultation process to be implemented in the next financial year as the organisation evolves.

No remuneration was received

No transfer of assets other than for full consideration