Government Analysis Function > Government Statistical Service > Opportunities: GSS community, support and networks > Task and Finish Groups

Task and Finish Groups

This page outlines the task and finish groups which are currently active.

Task and finish groups work on achieving an aim within a set timeframe. Involvement is voluntary and fits alongside your substantive role.

There are a range of task and finish groups available across the GSS and Analysis Function. Please use the website search function if the task and finish group you are interested in is not listed, or email GSSNet@statistics.gov.uk.

Applications to join a task and finish group are currently closed, however members with an interest in getting involved can contact GSSNet@statistics.gov.uk for consideration.

The People Advisory Group have four task and finish groups:

  • Assessors
  • Regional Recruitment
  • Government Statistician Group Badging Standards
  • Apprenticeship Offer

Further details are available on their GSS webpage.

The GSS Diversity and Inclusion group helps to embed diversity and inclusion across the GSS.

Current priorities of the group include:

  • representing diversity and inclusion in GSS people and recruitment related discussions through their Shadow Board
  • advising on diversity metrics
  • promoting a diverse GSS to external audiences to encourage applicants from a range of backgrounds

The group welcome new members from a range of backgrounds and experiences who are enthusiastic about making the GSS more inclusive.

Roles include:

  • organising meetings, agendas and workplans
  • reviewing web content and suggesting improvements
  • scoping out the potential for a mutual mentoring scheme
  • suggesting and contributing to other small diversity and inclusion related projects

This work is ongoing, so a set duration is not yet available.

The GSS Metrics Task and Finish Group are building on the outcomes of the 2024 group, which set up the GSS Vision Dashboard to measure progress in achieving the GSS vision: Strength in Numbers. There are two work strands, for which the remits are:

  • to improve the quantitative metrics used within the dashboard and set targets for each metric
  • to develop a GSS-wide community survey to capture whether progress is being made to strengthen the community (this may also extend to the Analysis Function community)

The final product of the group will support the success of the GSS vision, and will be used by many senior statisticians across government, including the national statistician.

The duration of this work is 12 weeks. During this time, volunteers will be expected to spend up to four hours per week working on their project and with others in the team.

The Royal Statistical Society (RSS) and the Government Statistical Service (GSS) are working together on a project about the future of the statistical profession. They aim to answer questions including:

  • In a decade, what will statisticians be doing?
  • Which elements of the role will remain constant and which will evolve?
  • Which factors are going to influence how the role evolves?
  • What skills and training will future statisticians need?

Steve Ellerd-Elliott (a Deputy Head of the GSS) and a small group are supporting the next stage of this work, which will include consulting the GSS and wider statistician community to inform a joint RSS and GSS report on the future of the statistical profession.

Volunteers will promote the consultation, gather views from across the GSS, and support with drafting the final report.

The work is taking place from May 2025 until September 2025.

This group aims to explore options to develop and fund a new platform for government statistics, by investigating the scaling up of existing and successful departmental sites as well as designing some elements from scratch.

This group currently has representation from multiple government departments, and welcomes new members. The group will meet regularly throughout 2025 and will draw together advice for the GSS Deputy Heads and other senior audiences.

GSS dissemination champions and presentation champions will likely be the first to hear about developments and will influence this work – if your department is not represented by a champion, please consider joining these networks.

This group are reviewing GSS Governance, and will cover all GSS Committees and Boards, as well as the GSS Champions and the role of the Heads of Profession.

Tasks involve evaluating the terms of reference and the effectiveness of different elements of GSS governance, as well as speaking to members of these groups.

The review should last around two months, and members are expected to dedicate a few hours each week. The deliverable will be a paper with recommendations on actions to strengthen GSS governance, which will go to the Deputy Heads of the GSS and the National Statistics Executive Group (NSEG).

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