Ref 11CriticalStrategicCore change budget

Data foundations

Summary

First initiative in the wider data transformation programme. Establish a data governance council, define a firm-wide data policy, introduce data management principles and practices, and recommend tooling to monitor and control the data estate.

Score breakdown

Category score is the share of that category's criteria answered yes. Contribution is that score times the category weighting.

Areas of focus0/1×5%0.0
Clients1/3×10%3.3
Expansion & global footprint0/3×25%0.0
Increasing revenue & profitability2/2×25%25.0
People & culture0/2×10%0.0
Innovation & service delivery2/2×10%10.0
Operational infrastructure3/3×15%15.0

Weighted score53.3

Criteria

Areas of focus

Improves growth in the areas of focus: no

Clients

Improves client satisfaction scores: yes
Improves client retention rate: no
Improves net promoter score: no

Expansion & global footprint

Supports expansion of regional offices: no
Supports expansion into new countries: no
Increases revenue from international markets: no

Increasing revenue & profitability

Improves fee earner revenue: yes
Improves utilisation rate: yes

People & culture

Improves employee engagement scores: no
Improves staff retention: no

Innovation & service delivery

Improves efficiency through adoption of legal technology: yes
Improves processes through automation: yes

Operational infrastructure

Reduces operational footprint through optimisation and automation: yes
Allows for risk mitigation: yes
Aligns with the technology roadmap and future plans: yes

Benefits

No quantifiable or qualitative benefits from this initiative alone, but it delivers the foundational changes that every later data initiative depends on.

Resources required

Project manager; data governance consultant; data process analyst; legal and regulatory risk; IT security; IT development and business intelligence; IT solution delivery; IT applications

Review note

Confirmed as strategic.

Position

53.3

Weighted score out of 100

of 28

Scores 50 or above: on the shortlist for a business case.

Facts

Sponsor: Marcus Ellery — Global Head of Technology
Sponsor identified: Yes
Cost band: £50–£150Kmidpoint £100k
Benefits: Non-tangible benefitsscore 1
Complexity: Highscore 3
Strategic alignment: 48%
Schedule: Aug 2026 — Jan 20276 months
Delivery team: Alice Whitfield, Sophie Marchant