Overview:

This masterclass examines how evidence is actually used in real-world decision‑making, where data is incomplete, contested or politically sensitive. Moving beyond the ideal of “evidence‑based policy”, the session explores the relationship between evidence, judgement, values and authority — and how leaders make defensible decisions under pressure.  

Through a live interview between Professor Brian Head and a senior public sector leader, participants gain candid insight into the realities of decision‑making at senior levels and the trade‑offs that evidence alone cannot resolve.  

Focus areas:

• Evidence‑based vs evidence‑informed policymaking.

• The role of judgement, values and legitimacy in public decisions.

• Navigating conflicting datasets and competing forms of evidence.

• Understanding where accountability sits when evidence does not decide.

24 June, (Time TBC), Online via Zoom

Overview:

This session reframes data as a question of power, rights, consent and governance rather than a neutral institutional asset. Drawing on First Nations data sovereignty perspectives, the masterclass explores who has the authority to collect, define, access and use data — and what obligations follow when institutions hold data about peoples and communities. 

Participants are encouraged to examine their own organisational assumptions about ownership and control, and to consider how data practices intersect with trust, legitimacy and self‑determination. 

Focus areas: 

• Data sovereignty as a leadership and governance issue.

• First Nations perspectives on knowledge, data and self‑determination.

• Consent, custodianship and collective rights in data use.

• Identifying sovereignty “friction points” in common government data practices.

1 July, (Time TBC), Online via Zoom

Overview:

Building on earlier sessions, this masterclass focuses on what responsible data leadership and stewardship look like in practice. Participants explore how institutions can use data to support learning, sense‑making and public value — rather than false certainty, compliance theatre or narrow optimisation. 

The session emphasises trust, governance and institutional capability over tools and analytics, helping leaders reflect on how performance systems, dashboards and metrics can both support and distort decision‑making. 

Focus areas:

• Stewardship versus ownership of data.

• Trust, legitimacy and institutional responsibility.

• Using data for learning rather than certainty.

• Designing feedback loops that support public value outcomes.

8 July, (Time TBC), Online via Zoom

Overview:

This concluding masterclass looks ahead to the future of data in public institutions, with a focus on trust, workforce capability and leadership responsibility rather than technology forecasting. The session explores how shifts in public expectations, workforce composition, and data practices are reshaping what it means to govern, steward and work with data in the years ahead. 

Participants will examine how emerging developments — including increased data sharing, new forms of evidence, automation and AI — are changing not only what data is used, but who uses it, how judgement is exercised, and where accountability sits. Rather than positioning AI or advanced analytics as an end point, the session treats these developments as catalysts that reveal deeper questions about institutional capability, confidence and legitimacy. 

The session invites leaders to reflect on what kinds of data cultures, skills and mindsets will be required to sustain trust and public value in an increasingly data‑rich environment, and what responsibilities leaders carry when certainty is impossible and consequences are scaled. 

Focus areas:

• How public trust and expectations are shaping the future use of data.

• What data‑rich futures mean for leadership judgement and accountability.

• Workforce capability: confidence, fluency and roles beyond technical expertise.

• AI and automation as amplifiers of existing data practices and assumptions.

• What institutions must let go of — and what they must strengthen — to create public value over time.

15 July, (Time TBC), Online via Zoom