Joe Cuddeford

Director

Joe Cuddeford is Director of Smart Data Research UK (SDR UK), a new data infrastructure investment that will unlock emerging forms of data for research and innovation. He has a background in social research, policy analysis and data strategy and has spent much of his career working across government to realise the potential of data to inform policy.   

 Joe joined SDR UK from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), where he led a portfolio covering the intersection between geospatial data, innovation and national policy challenges, including housing, energy, transport, land use and net zero.    

 He was a founding member of the Geospatial Commission in the Cabinet Office, where he developed the UK’s first national geospatial strategy. He began his career developing social surveys at the Office for National Statistics before moving into statistical policy and strategy. He was Head of Strategy to the UK National Statistician, where he developed the Better Statistics, Better Decisions strategy, and advisor to the Chair of the UK Statistics Authority.