Research themes
We drive cutting edge research that helps solve social and economic challenges, guided by four research themes.
Productivity and prosperity for all
Smart data can help us understand what drives growth and innovation. It helps us plan infrastructure for different communities across the UK and tackle inequalities. The advent of smart data sources provides a unique opportunity to study the factors that influence productivity and prosperity. These sources include professional social networks, transaction records and remote sensing.
Health and wellbeing
Smart data can provide insights to improve population health and tackle inequalities. It can help us understand the drivers of the mental health crisis, and how we might live longer, healthier lives. Data sources might include financial transactions, loyalty cards, social media and wearable devices. Using the data, we can better understand the links between health, wellbeing, behaviours, circumstances and places.
Digital society
Smart data can provide insights about online safety, misinformation, the digital divide and the future of work. The digital society research theme encompasses studying data from social media, search queries and online activity is vital for understanding the challenges and opportunities of advancing technology.
Sustainability
Smart data can help tackle issues such as decarbonisation, green growth and the transition to a sustainable future. Data generated through our use of devices and the data gathered by sensors have huge potential to support research related to environmental sustainability, one of our four research themes.