I worked as a consultant (2 days per week) with Ofcom to develop their Online Data and Research Strategy. I worked with the teams to figure out what data and research was needed and developed a strategy to help put it in place.

As part of the work we identified gaps and opportunities for Ofcom to innovate and use new tools. I worked closely with internal teams including policy, legal, governance, economists, researchers and data analysts, to develop pilot projects to test new approaches.

Some of the approaches we developed have become embedded, such as the idea of producing child avatars to understand the experiences of children online (alongside other methods). Others were less successful, but Ofcom learned from trying them.

My 6 month contract with Ofcom lasted 4 years in the end, as when one project finished they found another that would benefit from my enthusiasm and can-do approach. I hope I’ll return again some day!