Data Day Edinburgh 2026

Data Day Edinburgh 2026 brings Scotland's public-sector and civic data community together at the COSLA Conference Centre for a full day on what is actually being built with data here. The emphasis is on delivered work rather than strategy — services, pipelines and analysis running inside councils, health boards, government bodies and the organisations that work with them. The audience is a mix of analysts, data engineers, service designers and policy staff, which shapes the questions asked after each session. Free. Doors open at 08:30 for registration and the programme starts at 09:00, finishing at 17:00. Lunch and refreshments are included with the ticket, with vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and halal options; the organisers ask that specific allergies be flagged to info@datadayedinburgh.co.uk in advance. The venue is 19 Haymarket Yards, EH12 5BH, a few minutes from Haymarket station, and the schedule is published in the event app on the day. Why go: civic data work rarely gets written up, so a day of people describing what they shipped inside a public body is unusually concrete. Best for anyone building or buying data services in Scottish government, local authorities or health.