In today’s digital world, the data we create through our daily interactions holds great potential to improve our lives. From our phones and wearables to online transactions and smart sensors, this “smart data” offers a wealth of potential insights.  

That’s where Smart Data Research UK comes in. We’re the UK’s national programme dedicated to unlocking the power of smart data for positive change. We want to involve the public in shaping the future of how data is used for good throughout the life of the programme.

Learn more about our mission and objectives.

Building trust

Building public trust is an important part of our work. Our commitments are: 

• To be open and transparent about our work and to involve the public as much as possible 

We have commissioned a public dialogue to gather insights into people’s hopes and concerns regarding smart data research.  

We’ve partnered with public engagement specialists Sciencewise to deliver our dialogue and contracted the consultancy Thinks Insight and Strategy to run discussions with a diverse group of participants across the UK (in-person and online). The dialogue will focus on ethical principles, privacy, and public trust in smart data use. 

• To ensure the highest standards of ethical conduct and responsible data practices are followed 

Together with our data services and wider networks of partners, we ensure data is acquired and governed in a trustworthy way, with appropriate levels of privacy and full legal compliance. Learn more about how we ensure the ethical and responsible use of data.  

Research for the public good  

Public Engagement Oversight Group 

Our Public Engagement Oversight Group includes people from a range of fields and perspectives, all with an interest in the use of smart data for research that will benefit society. They are: 

• Chair – Professor Alison Park, Deputy Executive Chair, Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)
• Alison Preston, Head of Research: Making Sense of Media, Ofcom
• Andy Morris, Chief Data Officer, Walgreens Boots Alliance
• Colin Griffiths, Policy Manager, Citizens Advice
• Fay Skevington, Digital Strategy, AI in Education, Department for Education
• Jared Keller, Principal Researcher, Open Data Institute
• Javier Ruiz Diaz, Digital Policy Consultant
• Kathy Peach, Director of the Centre for Collective Intelligence Design, NESTA
• Nick Bailey, Director, Urban Big Data Centre, University of Glasgow
• Octavia Field Reid, Associate Director, Ada Lovelace Institute
• Peter Stokes, Director of Platform Development, OpenSAFELY, University of Oxford
• Richard Syers, Principal Policy Adviser, Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)
• Roger Halliday, CEO, Research Data Scotland
• Sofi Nickson, Head of Research, Office for Statistics Regulation
• Stephanie Borthwick, Senior Policy Adviser, Which?
• Teodora Kaneva, Head of Infrastructure, techUK
• Tim Davies, Research Director, Connected by Data
• Yves-Alexandre de Montjoye, Associate Professor, Imperial College London

PEDRI 

We proudly support the Public Engagement in Data Research Initiative (PEDRI). PEDRI is a sector-wide partnership bringing together organisations that work with data and statistics to generate insights that can inform policy and practice.  

The goal is to collaborate on establishing and driving forward best practice for public involvement and engagement (PIE) with data research, to bring the views of the public to policymakers and data holders in a more meaningful way.  

Find out more about PEDRI.

Contact us

If you have any questions, please get in touch with our public engagement team to find out more or to collaborate: smartdataresearch@ukri.org