Leading economists, policymakers and business leaders unite to tackle how the UK values data
Leading economists, policymakers, academics and business leaders are being brought together at the University of Cambridge in a major new initiative aimed at addressing one of the defining economic questions of the AI era: how should we measure, value and govern data?
The Economics of Data event, taking place on 15-16 September, has been organised by data valuation specialist Anmut, in association with the Bennett School of Public Policy at the University of Cambridge.
Approximately 30 senior figures across government, academia and industry will convene for a closed working session in Cambridge. Co-chaired by Bennett Professor of Public Policy Dame Diane Coyle and Cambridge pro-vice-chancellor and co-founder of Anmut Andy Neely OBE, the group includes representatives from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), Aviva, Imperial College Business School, and Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
The initiative is intended to begin developing a shared approach to a problem that is becoming increasingly urgent as data becomes fundamental to AI, investment, productivity and economic policymaking. Following the October 2025 ONS Blue Book update, which formally added data as an asset to UK national accounts, official statistics track the cost of producing data, rather than the underlying economic value it generates.
The programme will address this challenge through three practical economic lenses:
- Firm Practice: Examining how data-intensive industries, such as financial services and insurance, can translate operational data advantages into credible board-level investment decisions.
- Public Infrastructure: Exploring sustainable funding models for public data infrastructure, where value accrues downstream to the wider economy, such as Met Office data generating an estimated £56 billion in annual economic benefits.
- National Policy: Addressing how national accounting standards can move beyond simple cost tracking to better capture data’s true impact on productivity, AI adoption and industrial strategy.
Simon Ferriter, chief executive of Anmut, commented: “Data has evolved from a back-office utility to the primary engine of the modern economy, yet our valuation tools haven’t kept pace. We are still struggling to fully quantify what data is actually worth.
“AI has raised the stakes further and made the problem impossible to ignore.
Organisations are committing billions to AI and tech infrastructure, while national policy is being written around assets we still struggle to measure on a balance sheet. Neither business, academia, nor government can solve this valuation gap alone.
“By creating The Economics of Data and bringing together experts across all three communities, we can lay the foundation for a unified language and agenda to guide smarter data investments and better policy for years to come.”
Rather than attempting to force a single-day consensus, the initiative will map core areas of agreement, identify unresolved methodological questions, and establish priority areas for standard-setting. These insights will form the foundation for a co-authored agenda, A Shared Agenda for the Economics of Data, scheduled for publication in early 2027.