The Government Digital Service (GDS) has released a new version of the Algorithmic Transparency Reporting Standard (ATRS) for public sector bodies.
It said it has developed version four of the ATRS based on feedback from the Open Standards Board and public sector representatives.
The initial version was launched in 2021 to provide a standardised way for public sector organisations to publish information about how and why they are using algorithmic tools, as part of the effort to improve transparency around their use. It became mandatory for central government in March 2024.
The team behind the move has said in a blogpost that the update has involved refining the prompts for each field of the standard, with the aim of streamlining and improving the clarity of the template.
Ease and time saving
“This change should help teams to draft ATRS records with greater ease, requiring less time spent on iteration,” they said. “Moreover, the data section has been reorganised, allowing users to clearly distinguish between data used during development of a model and operational data.
“Through these improvements and some deliberate design, the template is now better equipped for use with pre-trained models (like large language models) and off-the-shelf tools.”
They added that so far over 50 records have been published on the ATRS repository, and that the next steps include ensuring that all in-scope organisations publish their relevant records.
There are also plans to extend the roll out across more parts of the public sector and the assess the impact of the work so far.
The ATRS team has now been merged with the Central Digital and Data Office within GDS.
