A 2-year ESRC project funded to convene & leverage national and international expertise from across the entire Smart Data + Digital Footprints landscape.
The purpose of this webpage is to provide an overview of current and upcoming ESRC Smart Data Research UK (formerly Digital Footprints) Strategic Advice Team (SAT) activities and to provide ample avenues for stakeholders and community members to get involved and provide input. The ESRC’s Smart Data Research UK programme presents an enormous opportunity for social and economic researchers across the UK and, to maximise the success of the investment, we are here to collect expertise and perspectives and also share opportunities widely.
This is a simple website by design, aimed to provide easy access to our formal activities, which include:
We will review and digest the input we receive across these various activities, providing a series of reports and roadmaps, as we go.
An overview of the Smart Data Research UK programme and ESRC contact information can be found here. See below for the latest opportunities!
The SAT is led by Prof Rachel Franklin at Newcastle University and includes Prof Simeon Yates and Dr Elena Musi at the University of Liverpool, Dr Omar Guerrero at the Alan Turing Institute, and Dr Seth Spielman as an international partner at Microsoft in the United States. The SAT also includes two early-career researchers: Jeanette D’Arcy at the University of Liverpool and Jessica Crosby at Newcastle University.
We aim to bring together community members from the full breadth of the Digital Footprints landscape, including researchers, data owners, infrastructure experts, and more. We have several structured ways to get involved in our work (see below), but always welcome an email, as well!
The easiest way to hear about upcoming events and activities is to sign up for our mailing list.
We are convening a series of online workshops on different topics over the next two years. Please see below for details, including registration links, where available.
This survey, designed by researchers at the University of Liverpool and University of Newcastle, aims to gain insights into experiences in the area of smart data for social science research. You do not need expertise in working with smart data to respond to this survey!
The survey will help to map the needs, challenges, enablers and best practice currently experienced by those working with smart data (and/or those who would like to in future), both in the UK and in collaboration with international partners, as well as tapping into what future directions of travel in this space could be. The survey should take no longer than 10-15 minutes. Click here to take part.
We recently conducted expert interviews, starting with our SAT Advisory Group members and snowballing from there, as necesary. We were especially curious about the following:
Results from the interviews will be available soon here. For updates, please do sign up to our mailing list here.
In collaboration with the CDRC, our first Data Dive will take place at the Digital Innovation Facility at the University of Liverpool on 29 April 2024. This is an excellent opportunity to network with others interested in working with smart data, get hands-on experience dealing with challenges of engaging smart data, talk about specific opportunities, and learn a little more about the work of the Consumer Data Research Centre (CDRC). Our purpose is to highlight best practices, dig into the data, and explore the potential for innovative social research. We invite you to bring your expertise and enthusiasm to the table to ensure that we assemble a diverse range of researchers of different backgrounds, experiences, and career stages to contribute to this new event. This will be a full day event, starting at 10am and ending at 5pm, with lunch and refreshments provided. A full agenda will follow prior to the event. Registration here (limited bursaries available!).