Storm ID awarded Scottish Government contract for next-generation official statistics and open data platform

Transforming data access in Scotland

The Scottish Government’s vision is to create a modern, user-centred solution for publishing and accessing official statistics and spatial data. The programme will see the replacement and enhancement of the existing statistics.gov.scot platform, the consolidation of related services, and the launch of a new platform under the data.gov.scot domain.

The project will be structured across three main phases:

• Phase 1 – Beta
  Delivery of a minimum viable product (MVP) for data.gov.scot, featuring a new public-facing portal, data publishing interface, management platform and content management system.
• Phase 2 – Live and Spatial Platform Consolidation
  Extension of the platform to support spatial data cataloguing, interactive mapping, and consolidation of spatialdata.gov.scot and remotesensingdata.gov.scot.
• Phase 3 – Local Statistics
  Integration of local area data and features, building on open-source components and expanding the platform’s reach and utility.

This project is a cornerstone of the Scottish Government’s Open Data Strategy and Open Government Action Plan. It aims to make Scotland’s data more accessible, transparent and impactful for citizens, businesses, policymakers and researchers alike.

Why this matters

The new platform will be designed with a strong focus on user needs, accessibility and security. It will support a wide range of users, from curious citizens and commercial analysts to technical experts and policy influencers. By consolidating multiple platforms and streamlining processes, the solution will improve data quality, usability and long-term sustainability.

Some of the key benefits to be delivered include:

• Enhanced user experience and accessibility for all user groups, including those with disabilities.
• Modern, scalable infrastructure supporting open standards and interoperability.
• Consolidation of statistical and spatial data into a unified, easy-to-navigate portal.
• Robust support, training, and community engagement to build digital and data literacy across Scotland.

What happens next

Storm ID and the Scottish Government will be quickly mobilising, kicking off the Beta phase and laying the groundwork for delivery. The next steps include:

• Engaging with stakeholders and user communities to refine requirements and prioritise features.
• Building and testing the new data.gov.scot portal, ready for an MVP release in 2026.
• Preparing for seamless transition and consolidation of the existing platforms.

Looking forward

This contract award signals a bold step forward for Scotland’s digital and data infrastructure, and a significant partnership between Storm ID and the Scottish Government, with the engagement planned for the next three years. The decision to entrust Storm ID with this project demonstrates ongoing confidence in our proven ability to deliver critical digital and data solutions.

Our work on the Scottish Government’s official statistics and open data platform builds on a strong foundation established during the early phases of the programme.

The Scottish Government Digital Directorate has published excellent blog posts documenting this journey, including Statistics.gov.scot improvement project: Discovery, which sets out how in-depth user research helped the team better understand how people find, use and interpret Scotland’s official statistics. This research shaped priorities around usability, accessibility and trust

More recently, Shaping the future of statistics.gov.scot: from Discovery to Alpha explains how those insights have been carried forward into Alpha, with prototypes and early solutions tested to explore new ways of publishing, accessing and visualising data.

We’re proud to have built on this work as delivery partners and to support the next phase of improving access to Scotland’s official statistics and open data.