Celebrating 3 Years of Smart Data Foundry!

Three years ago, Smart Data Foundry was founded with a bold mission: to unlock financial data for the public good. Since then, we’ve grown into a trusted organisation, working with policymakers, financial institutions, and researchers to drive meaningful change. Today, as we celebrate our third birthday, we reflect on how far we’ve come and look ahead to what’s next.

Three Years of Impact

Unlocking the power of smart data

We’re making de-identified financial data widely accessible for the first time, partnering with change makers to be part of a solution that builds a stronger economy and a more equitable society.

We recently secured £3 million in funding from Smart Data Research UK (UKRI) to launch the Financial Data Service (FINDS). This service will give researchers access to secure, de-identified banking data from 5.3 million UK customers, offering groundbreaking insights into economic trends, financial inclusion, and policy effectiveness. It will enable research that can transform our understanding of how economic shocks and policy interventions affect different communities, helping policymakers design more targeted and effective responses to economic challenges.

Building a trusted smart data ecosystem

Our partnerships have been at the heart of our success.

Our trusted data partners now include NatWest, Virgin Money, Equifax, Sage, FreeAgent, and Moneyhub. Our data partners are regularly and responsibly sharing data, enabling us to expand our work with organisations like the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Insights Infrastructure, East Renfrewshire Council and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to drive new insights into the impact of income volatility and financial exclusion.

We are also proud to be part of an innovative network of organisations and institutions driving awareness and engagement with smart data. From government departments and funders to FinTech networks and academia, our partners are all engaged in the mission of using smart data for social good.

These partnerships and collaborations have enabled major projects, including:

• The Income Volatility Dataset with Joseph Rowntree Foundation - Providing insights into financial stability and income fluctuations.
• The Cost of Living Dashboard with East Renfrewshire Council - Providing interactive data driven dashboards that support local authorities in identifying hidden financial hardship.
• The Quarterly Small Business Tracker with Sage and CEBR - Measuring the financial health of SMEs.
• Smart Data Challenge with Department of Business & Trade (DBT) - We have successfully completed the first stages of this innovation challenge, which aims to use smart data to improve the lives of UK citizens and businesses. The challenge will continue this year and offer a £600k prize pot.
• FINDS - Part of the SDR UK smart data ecosystem, FINDS will provide researchers with access to 5.3 million de-identified consumer banking records and curated datasets on themes such as income volatility and living beyond means.

Key Milestones & Achievements

• Established our Board of Directors - Strengthening our leadership with key industry leaders and academic representation.
• Published the Older Workers and Later Lives Report - In partnership with abrdn Financial Fairness Trust.
• Impact of Late Payments work with Sage delivered
• Innovation Calls run with FinTech Scotland:
  • Strengthening relationships between financial institutions and their SME Clients;
  • Innovation Challenge to support consumers in their later Financial Lives
• Moved into the Edinburgh Futures Institute (EFI) - A game-changer for collaboration and impact, we are in a thriving ecosystem sharing offices with Research Data Scotland and SCADAR.

Lessons Learned Along the Way

Over the past three years, Smart Data Foundry has tackled some of the biggest challenges in responsible sharing of financial data. Along the way, we’ve learned valuable lessons about collaboration, responsibility, and the need for continuous evolution.

Cross-sector collaboration is key

No single organisation has all the answers to solving financial and economic challenges. True innovation happens when industry, government, and academia collaborate, pooling their expertise and data to generate insights that benefit the economy and society.

• Bridging the gap between sectors - We’ve seen firsthand how bringing together policymakers, financial institutions, and researchers leads to smarter, more effective solutions. Whether working with local councils on the Cost of Living Dashboard or supporting SMEs with the Sage Small Business Tracker, collaboration has been at the heart of everything we do.
• Breaking down data silos - Financial data has the power to drive meaningful change, but too often, it remains locked away in isolated systems. By forging partnerships with banks, fintechs, and researchers, we’ve demonstrated how securely sharing de-identified data can unlock powerful insights - whether it’s understanding income volatility or mapping economic wellbeing across regions.

Responsible Data Use Builds Trust

With great data comes great responsibility. Public trust in how financial data is used is fundamental, and transparency, ethics, and strong governance must always come first.

• Privacy and security are non-negotiable - From the outset, we have built Smart Data Foundry on a foundation of responsible data stewardship. This means using secure, de-identified datasets, implementing rigorous governance frameworks, and working closely with regulators to ensure ethical best practices.
• Balancing innovation with responsibility - The potential for financial data to drive impact is vast, but it must be handled with care. Whether analysing sensitive economic trends or tackling issues like the poverty premium, our work has reinforced the importance of using data ethically, transparently, and in ways that genuinely serve the public good.
• Public confidence matters. Many people remain cautious about how financial data is collected and used. We’ve learned that engaging with the public, policymakers, and industry stakeholders is crucial to building trust and understanding and ensuring that innovation benefits everyone, not just a select few.

Innovation Must Be Continuous

The world of financial data is evolving at breakneck speed, and staying ahead means being agile, forward-thinking, and always ready to adapt.

• Keeping pace with emerging trends - From Open Finance to AI-driven insights, financial data is changing how we understand economic and social challenges. By staying at the forefront of innovation, we’ve been able to launch groundbreaking tools like the Cost of Living dashboard, providing real-time insights into financial wellbeing.
• Regulation must evolve alongside technology. As new financial data solutions emerge, regulatory and ethical frameworks must keep pace. We’ve worked closely with bodies like the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), and the UK and Scottish Governments to shape policies that support responsible innovation.

These lessons will continue to guide us as we move forward, shaping how Smart Data Foundry drives innovation, strengthens data ethics, and fosters collaboration for years to come.

Looking Ahead: What’s Next for Smart Data Foundry?

As we celebrate our third anniversary, we’re not just reflecting on what we’ve achieved - we’re looking ahead to the exciting developments on the horizon. A major focus for 2025 and beyond is launching two groundbreaking tools: the Economic Nowcast and the Economic Wellbeing Explorer. These new smart data products will provide near-real-time insights into the financial health of individuals and small businesses across the UK, empowering policymakers, financial institutions, and researchers to make better-informed decisions.

Economic Nowcast: A Real-Time Pulse on Economic Wellbeing

The Economic Nowcast is a first-of-its-kind initiative that will provide near-real-time insight into the economic wellbeing of UK adults and small business productivity. Built in collaboration with leading financial data partners, it will be freely available on Smart Data Foundry’s website, offering critical insights into financial stability and economic trends as they unfold.

Economic Wellbeing Explorer: Unlocking Local-Level Insights

Alongside the Economic Nowcast, we will soon be launching the Economic Wellbeing Explorer, a powerful, interactive map-based tool that provides detailed economic insights at National, Regional, and Local levels. Available to authorised users via MyFoundry, the Explorer builds on the success of our work with East Renfrewshire Council, where we developed a local-level dashboard to identify hidden deprivation and track intervention outcomes.

Through these two major initiatives, we are democratising access to economic insights and equipping decision-makers with the tools to track financial resilience, identify emerging risks, and design targeted interventions to support individuals and businesses.

These developments mark a significant step forward in Smart Data Foundry’s mission to unlock financial data for the public good. We can’t wait to see their impact on shaping economic policy and supporting financial well-being across the UK.

And we’re just getting started!

A huge THANK YOU to our team, partners, and supporters who have been part of this journey. We can’t wait to see what the next three years bring!