The UK Diversity Data Alliance (DDA), launched by a coalition of startups, venture capital firms, and industry groups, aims to enhance transparency and promote equity by collecting detailed data on founders and investors to track investment trends and address diversity gaps.

This initiative adopts a standardized data collection framework from a US model established in 2024, focusing on ethnicity, disability, socioeconomic background, gender identity, age, and sexual orientation.

Data collection is voluntary, involving questions on personal and diversity characteristics, with options for 'prefer not to say' or 'not applicable' to ensure privacy and comfort.

The DDA hopes to see widespread adoption across the UK venture capital industry, aiming to make this framework the standard, much like some US organizations have already implemented.

Advocacy for UK legislation mandating transparency in diversity reporting is a key part of the effort, inspired by California’s law requiring firms to report demographic data on invested founders starting in 2026.

The push for better data stems from concerns that the UK venture capital sector is not advancing quickly enough on diversity, and comprehensive data is viewed as essential for identifying gaps and designing effective interventions.