News

Government targets better project decisions with new data standard

Justin Stanton

Editor, DC+

15 December 2025

The government has launched a programme and project data standard that applies to all government departments and their arm’s length bodies.

Image: 16499537 | And Crane © Alexander Potapov | Dreamstime.com

The standard establishes mandatory requirements for the creation of programme and project data across government. It sets out consistent definitions, formats and update frequency requirements for fundamental programme and project data.

The standard has been published by the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority on behalf of Government Project Delivery (GPD). It was developed by the latter to help improve the quality of programme and project delivery data across government.

According to GPD, by following this standard, organisations can:

improve data quality and interoperability;

enable better insights and decision-making; and

support assurance, risk management and continuous improvement.

It covers work at all levels and all delivery methods, from:

programmes and projects listed in the government major project portfolio (GMPP) through to smaller initiatives; and

digital, infrastructure, transformation, service delivery, military capability, property, regulatory compliance or other purposes.

Other public sector organisations may find this standard useful, GPD stated.

The standard is on trial until 31 December 2026. During this time, in-scope organisations are expected to develop plans to implement the standard. A second version will be published in early 2027; organisations will then have until 2029 to comply with the standard.

Project management platforms

A handbook and case study have been published alongside the standard.

The handbook features a section on programme and project management platforms, and states: “You might consider:

which platform(s) are used?

what data entities and attributes do they capture?

who provides them? Are they in-house or procured from an external supplier?

to what extent does the current configuration support the expectations set by the standard?

can it be reconfigured to support compliance with the standard?

if so, when can this happen and are there any costs associated with reconfiguration?

who are the product owners within your organisation?”

The standard also details data governance, specifically the roles and responsibilities. Accounting officers are accountable for how information and data are managed in their organisation. Chief data officers are responsible for ensuring that there are clear expectations for managing data and ensure compliance with data and security requirements, including those set by the standard. The senior officer accountable for project delivery in an organisation is responsible for ensuring that the organisation’s programme and project data complies with the requirements of the standard.

For each portfolio, the portfolio director, and for each programme or project, the senior responsible owner ensures that programme and project delivery data is created and managed according to the standard.

In programmes and projects, the senior responsible owner acts as the data owner, with ultimate accountability for the data created by their programme or project team.

Data stewards manage the quality of specific data entities within their programme or project. Anyone in a programme or project team can act as a data steward.

What the standard doesn’t do

It also makes clear that the standard does not:

create new reporting obligations for organisations;

require organisations to create unnecessary programme or project data;

require organisations to use a specific or single project management software or IT solution;

require organisations to hold and manage compliant data in a single location.

The path to full compliance will vary, GPD said, depending on each organisation’s unique programme and project data environment (embracing IT systems, data management practices and data maturity). In some cases, limitations of organisations’ programme and project data environments may mean immediate compliance is impossible. When such limitations exist, organisations shall develop implementation plans to overcome them and to work towards full compliance, GPD said.

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Topics:

Data Government Project Delivery National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority NISTA

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