As user researchers, we support stakeholders by delving into complexity and distilling it into concise, actionable meaning. It does not matter how thorough or extensive the research is – if stakeholders do not walk away with clear takeouts in their mind, then the work will never have a significant impact.

The key to effectively communicating research is through providing insight. In this article we will look at what is meant by “insight” and the steps we can take to deliver it.

Information versus insight

“Information” includes data, user feedback, facts, quotes, and observations. It is the foundational starting point for having the evidence to make informed decisions.

However, where information falls short is that the implications are not always apparent. Stakeholders can receive a very informative report and yet still be left with the question, “so what does this all mean?”.

To answer the “so what?” question, we need to go a step further than providing just information – we need to provide the insight.

Insights are the “aha!” moments. They are statements which can inspire and change the way we think about something, delivering clear and impactful “nuggets” of understanding. They are also routed in a deep knowledge of the business problem and context.

Insight is about taking information, interpreting the implication for the project/organisation, and providing a direction for what should be done off the back of what we now know.

Information

To illustrate, here are some examples of information:

• 70% of users were satisfied with the website.
• Healthcare professionals were least satisfied with the website.
• The majority of users are healthcare professionals.
• There are several pain points with the guidance on the website.

Insight

If we were to draw out the insight from this information, we might say that:

If our goal is to improve overall satisfaction with the website, we should prioritise addressing the needs of healthcare professionals, as they are both the largest user group and the least satisfied. The starting point could be to address their pain points with using guidance.

Six ways of transforming information into insight

1. Understand The Stakeholders: To provide insights that resonate with stakeholders, you need a solid understanding of their perspective and the context within which they operate. This means being aware of the challenges they face, their priorities, their constraints, and the decisions they need to make. Doing this ensures that research findings are relevant and tailored to support them in their role.
2. Understand The Objectives: Research recommendations should be aligned with workstreams across the business. Otherwise, your insights could cause confusion by recommending steps, which conflict with business goals. It is important researchers consider the desired policy outcomes, the delivery programme, and the strategic objectives. Taking this holistic approach means that your research findings can be easily joined up and applied across the business.
3. Develop Hypotheses: A good way of making research findings insightful is through attaching it to a hypothesis. It means that when you complete your research, you end up with clear answers to your questions and can tangibly see what has been learned. For example, instead of a detailed description of the extent to which users find a system easy to use, consider framing a response to the hypothesis: “Users find the system easy to use”. Creating hypotheses in collaboration with stakeholders also helps everyone feel invested in the outcomes of the research.
4. Know the Users in Their Context: Users are not static data points – they are real people! You should always think about how you can apply the information you hold to what this means in relation to the wider environment. You can do this by supplementing your research with contextual evidence, such as literature on cultural trends, socio-economic changes, emerging technologies, and behavioural psychology. You can also understand context through benchmarking your service against relevant comparators.
5. Make Connections: Knowledge management is a difficult task for all large organisations but is very beneficial when done well. An insightful piece of research will look broadly at other relevant evidence, make the connections, and then develop a narrative for how the understanding of the user has developed. For example, “we already knew X, then our research uncovered Y, and now there is an opportunity to explore Z, as this has yet to be investigated and would deliver a lot of value.”
6. Finally, Be Curious! The primary role of a user researcher is to bring the users’ voice into conversations. Sometimes this means having the courage to challenge the status quo, pose questions to stakeholders, and suggest different ways of doing things. It is not about always coming up with great new ideas. Rather, it is about using research to be thought-provoking, introduce a fresh perspective and stimulate conversation.

In a world where we have more data than ever before, it’s not just about what we know, but how we use it. By considering and applying the above points, we can ensure that user research delivers valuable insight and leads to the delivery of relevant and viable user-centred services.

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Today, UK Biobank has about 10,000 variables per volunteer, from simple lifestyle information to physical measures, electronic health records (EHRs), genetic sequencing, biomarker data, and full body scan images. But to reach its goal of a safe and accessible database, UK Biobank had to overcome the challenge of how best to accommodate all of the data in a way that met researchers’ needs. With the inclusion of whole-genome sequencing data for all 500,000 participants, the sheer size of the data (currently around 30 petabytes) meant they had to find a way for researchers to analyze the data where they were situated, instead of downloading huge amounts.

UK Biobank needed a purpose-built data platform with compute and data-storage capabilities that provided analysis tools in a centralized environment and the flexibility to manage increasing quantities of data, allowing researchers to work on the dataset with ease. This led to the establishment and launch in 2021 of the secure, cloud-based UK Biobank Research Analysis Platform (RAP), which is hosted on Amazon Web Services (AWS) in the Europe (London) Region and enabled by DNAnexus. This post highlights UK Biobank’s journey to becoming a globally accessible dataset for health researchers.

Health data for the public interest

The altruism of research participants is at the heart of UK Biobank’s existence. The dataset’s founders and core funders champion contributors’ generosity by making the data available to researchers worldwide, thereby maximizing its benefits as an enabler for new drug discovery, diagnostics, and treatments worldwide.

All the data is de-identified and available to approved researchers for health-related research that is in the public interest. Since the database opened in 2012, more than 30,000 researchers from 90 countries have registered to use UK Biobank. So far, there have been more than 10,000 scientific publications based on researchers’ discoveries using UK Biobank data.

These include discoveries about conditions including cancers, heart disease, chronic kidney disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and Alzheimer’s disease. For example, a PhD student in Boston, Massachusetts, took UK Biobank’s genotyping data (around 800,000 markers across the genome) to establish the value of polygenic risk scores (a measure of a person’s disease risk due to their genes). This kind of analysis could support earlier and more targeted interventions for heart disease or aggressive forms of cancer, for instance.

New findings continue to come thick and fast—there were more than 3,000 published reports in 2023. Each enhancement to the data adds to its potential for other scientists.

Continuous, collaborative innovation

UK Biobank is exploring the possibility of adopting new technologies, such as generative artificial intelligence (AI), to make its database even more accessible and digestible to researchers. Initially, generative AI algorithms may simplify and accelerate interrogating the database, for instance, through direct questions such as “How many people in UK Biobank have had a heart attack under the age of 65?” This may progress to predictive analysis, for example, “Given the cholesterol level of men over the age of 65 with obesity, what will their projected cholesterol level be in five years?”

UK Biobank hopes to see the development of complementary biobanks in more countries, as these are essential for capturing detail about disease progression in diverse demographics and environments. The dataset’s leadership team continue to provide advice to scientists on how to set up similar studies and look forward to seeing the continuing, transformative results the UK Biobank RAP has for diagnoses, treatments, and cures around the world.

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The successful applicant will research the challenge of delivering equitable provision of future media in the context of growing digital inequalities.

Data-centric technologies, including AI, are at the centre of the BBC technology and innovation plan and will transform audiences’ experiences in the future. However, not everyone has equal access nor the same capacity to engage and benefit. People who are excluded are often already experiencing social, cultural, and economic marginalisation. As part of the BBC’s commitment to universality, this PhD will contribute to understanding digital inclusion in a data-driven society.  The PhD will undertake research to that can support technology policies and strategies that will address individual’s and household’s ‘digital living standards’.

https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/research/research-themes/digital/minimum-digital-living-standard/

https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/humanities-and-social-sciences/research/research-themes/centre-for-digital-humanities/projects/digital-living-standard/

It will sit alongside UK studies led by the University of Liverpool exploring digital inclusion and digital lived experience.  We are looking for candidates with a good methodological background – preferably mixing both quantitative and qualitative methods.  Disciplinary backgrounds may vary across social sciences – Media & Communications, Sociology, HCI, Information Studies, Politics or related disciplines.

The student will be supervised by Professor Simeon Yates at the University of Liverpool and Dr Rhianne Jones from BBC R&D (based in Salford’s Media City and Central London).

The studentship is part of a wider multidisciplinary cohort of four industrial PhD projects: Designing for All (BBC R&D blogpost) There will be opportunity to conduct research at the BBC, and to collaborate with the other students in the cohort. In addition to PhD fees and a generous enhanced stipend, the studentship also covers travel, research costs and equipment.

The person

This is a multidisciplinary research challenge. We are keen to receive applications from people from Sociology, Media & Communications, HCI, Information Studies, Politics or related disciplines or with relevant professional experience. Key areas of interest are:

• digital media; social and digital inequalities; digital inclusion; data-driven technologies; value-sensitive design; responsive innovation; public service media
• quantitative and qualitative methods; co-production; participatory design; deliberative inquiry; speculative design; prototyping.

The successful applicant should have the equivalent of a UK a first class or high upper second class honours degree and preferably a Masters or comparable professional experience.

A key aim of this cohort-based studentship is to develop future research leaders with experience of working in multidisciplinary teams and across academic and industry contexts. Candidates should expect to learn new, cross-disciplinary skills, including those related to empirical research design, data science/analysis and cutting-edge technology.

How to apply

Applications should be submitted via the Postgraduate Online Application systemhttps://www.liverpool.ac.uk/study/postgraduate-research/how-to-apply/

Important: When completing the form please ensure the following:

Under Programme Applied For select: Communications and Media – Doctor in Philosophy (PhD)

Under Finance select: Studentship and put “Reference BBC iCase award” as the type of studentship.

Applications should be accompanied by a personal statement of no more than two pages describing:

• Your research interests, a central question for this project and an indicative methodology
• Your experience to date that makes you suitable for this studentship, and what you would learn through this opportunity
• the impact you hope to make through working with us on this project.

Applicants applying for more than one of the ‘Designing for All’ studentships should indicate this in their personal statement.

For queries about the application process: pgarts@liverpool.ac.uk

For further Information about the PhD: Prof. Simeon Yates (simeon.yates@liverpool.ac.uk) or Dr Rhianne Jones (Rhia.Jones@bbc.co.uk).

Interviews will take place in late July 2022

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It’s created a “perfect storm” for Local Authorities:

• A loss of revenue from citizen services

With fewer people using town centre parking, leisure centres and other Council-provided facilities, much needed supplementary income has been significantly reduced throughout 2020. This trend may continue through some or most of 2021, especially if new and tougher restrictions return. Pressure is on Councils to reduce or remove parking charges, for example, to help give the High Street a boost. Without this additional income, Local Authorities will have smaller budgets to play with for the foreseeable future.

• Increases in council tax arrears

Council tax is often cited as the bill that consumers most worry about. It’s a significant cost to households and the repercussions of missing payments are huge. As we journey through a rocky recession plagued by soaring unemployment, the number of people defaulting on bills including council tax will sadly rise. This is the second of three revenue streams to be curtailed for Local Authorities.

• Increased demand for support and services from citizens

As well as losing income from the above two revenue streams, recent austerity has already put pressure on Council services. With demand for support increasing across the board, Councils will need to keep service standards high, on tighter budgets. This is challenging enough, without having to deal with operational issues such as social distancing and remote working.

These three key factors, coupled with recent budget cuts and austerity, mean that Local Authorities are struggling. Research by Grant Thornton has shown that over half of English Councils face financial failure, and there are similar figures for Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

Although we’re starting to see the end of some restrictions, and a small rebound in the economy, there’s a tough winter to come, and mass vaccination is still some months away.

So, what will be the mid and long-term impact from the crisis for Local Authorities? And how should such challenges be tackled by Local Authorities under such immense pressure? 

 With mass unemployment on the cards for 2021, there will of course be an increase in the amount of people who will find it hard to pay for things like council tax and rent, because of the sudden loss of income. 

Increased Demand

It’s critical that local authorities and central government are well-prepared for an influx of citizen support requirements and are able to provide such support with empathy and fair treatment, despite tightened purse strings.

There is already a significant level of debt owed by citizens to government, with over 9 million people in “problem debt”, even at the start of the pandemic. This amount will undoubtedly rise, and quickly. Debt such as parking fines, council tax arrears, and tax credit/universal credit overpayment debts amount to over £13.5bn.

After initial support measures such as grants, payment freezes and mortgage payment holiday periods have expired, we expect to see four types of citizens:

1. They have seen no change to their income are able to continue with their payments as normal
2. They may have received a pay cut or reduced working hours, which has left them with a reduction in income. They will require forbearance to ensure they are able to make reduced payments, safely.
3. They have completely lost their income because of the Covid-19 crisis. This may be due to ill health, a business going bust or redundancy. This approach will require a longer-term level of support and therefore resource from local authorities and central government.
4. There is also a fourth type, the fortuitous citizen who has been unaffected financially during the crisis and may actually have some surplus income available to make over-payments, since their spending may have reduced.

Vulnerable Citizens

Council tax debt was the single most common debt for the 635,000 new clients who contacted the national debt charity Step Change in 2019.

When there’s a sudden loss of income, just one missed monthly payment can easily escalate. Currently, a two-week delay in paying a single monthly council tax payment leads to debtors becoming liable for the entire annual bill of £1,750 for the average Band D home.

Citizens Advice received 474,500 approaches relating to government debt in the last financial year, compared to 221,300 relating to credit cards and loans.

Council tax debt can easily spiral and become unmanageable without intervention. This is not only damaging for the citizen, but also for Local Authority finances. The more the debt increases, the less likelihood there is of the funds being recouped. Intervening with empathy, and intervening early is not only ethical, it makes good financial sense to carefully manage a person’s debt. 

The financial services sector learnt a lot from the global financial crisis of a decade ago, particularly around treating customers fairly and protecting the vulnerable. A series of governance measures were put in place to make sure customers weren’t unfairly treated and that they received good outcomes. 

Translating those lessons learnt from financial services into the public sector would not only protect citizens, but also protect the sustainability of Councils and their services.

One option is to spread the cost of missed payments across the lifetime of the relationship.

Payment Plans for Arrears Management

As already happens in other public sector payments scenarios, when people miss one or more monthly or weekly payments, an arrangement is made to spread the cost of the default over the course of the subscription or loan, rather than having to pay double, triple or more in a single month.

To make sure the repayment is affordable, a full assessment of what the citizen can truly afford is carried out. Often this uses Open Banking technology to get an accurate and up to date picture of the citizen’s income and outgoings, spending habits and behaviours (with their consent). Using such technology gives a truer picture than just asking the citizen questions.  

This simple and flexible arrangement can be set up as a Direct Debit and is based on a careful assessment of affordability. Target provides the software to enable such payment plans through a portal, which is ably supported by a team of technicians to ensure smooth and continuous running of the system.

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The global economy is struggling to cope with the unprecedented challenges of the last few weeks as we proceed from shutdown to lockdown to an inevitable slowdown. The strategies and operational plans that seemed appropriate at the start of 2020 have now been cast aside. Financial projections and promises to shareholders have been torn up. But I would argue that we have seen a deeper, more long-term change. Something that I would refer to as a recalibration of the fundamentals of business and entrepreneurship.

Large Established Organizations get comfortable operating in a certain way and surround themselves with structures that reinforce existing ways of thinking and working. As Clayton Christensen famously summarized for us in his “innovator’s dilemma”, organizations will continue doing the things that made them successful even to the point where that behaviour is harmful. The challenge with any transformation, digital or otherwise, is to re-establish some of the basic principles that define the business. Something we can describe as a recalibration in the way you view the world. Often as a result of a major shock to the status quo: a technology breakthrough, a competitive innovation, or a massive movement in operating conditions. Far from a peripheral shift in working patterns, there is a mental and emotional transition that people undergo to relinquish old arrangements and embrace new ones. This is evidenced by a deep-seated adoption of the changes supported by associated values, principles, and processes. 

But what does this recalibration mean in practice? Let’s consider a situation in which you had been asked in late 2019 to design a 3-day training course focused around the theme of digital transformation to a group of 50 mid-level executives in a large, multi-national industrial company for delivery during the summer 2020. They were looking for an opportunity to learn about and discuss ways to improve their approaches to compete in challenging markets, accelerate decision making, hear about new digital technologies and their implications for future business models, and gain new skills to innovate at speed in collaboration with teams within and outside of the company.  You had likely been working hard during the first 2 months of 2020 to consider the context for this training, and to gain an understanding of this company and its plans for 2020 and beyond.

Looking at this task from today’s perspective of an economy struck by a pandemic shockwave, would you now do anything different? The answer surely has to be “Yes!”. Basic principles of business in a digital economy may endure, but their reflection in today’s environment will require new thinking. For me there are three areas where this recalibration will have its biggest impact:

Recalibration 1: Who does what, where.

As businesses grew and diversified, organizational structures offered centralized services provision and decision making to maintain control. While experiments with local autonomy have been underway for some time, there are very few firms in which this had taken much of a foothold. The last few weeks has seen a rapid move to decentralized, asynchronous organizational structures and a much more flexible networked approach to decision making. In discussions with a large European bank, the CTO remarked that they were now fully operational with 97% of employees working from home. Operating processes and management practices had been adjusted, and with great surprise they had found that this was not just possible, but an effective and enjoyable way to work for the most-part. His organization is already planning for a future where remote working is a much greater part of their operating model, and they are revising governance processes, IT infrastructures, and incentive models to align with this. These lessons will be fundamental to on-going ways of organizing teams, designing and prioritizing work, and managing all aspects of delivery.

Recalibration 2: Who is a friend, who is a foe.

The past few years has seen much discussion on the theme of business ecosystems and their role in scaling business success. Often associated with platform technologies, these ecosystems form as loose collections of partners in a network of relationships brought together through a common business purpose. In reality, most organizations operate through more traditional supply chain partnerships with optimized linear relationships governed by strong contractual mechanisms to ensure exclusivity and quality of service. The last few weeks have highlighted the brittle, inflexible nature of this approach. For example, the food supply chain has been particularly hard hit. In the US it is reported that over half of all food in the US is grown for restaurants, hotels, and associated outlets. The inability to redefine or redirect that food will result in massive waste and financial losses. Years spent reducing costs by applying lean techniques and fine tuning just-in-time supply have been destroyed. In some cases, these have been hastily replaced by collections of local partners with a common purpose working under more flexible supplier relationships. Highly dynamic market conditions due to unpredictable supply and demand has forced organizations to shape risk profiles around a variety of possible future scenarios. A different approach is required beyond previously sacred operational mantras concerning efficiency through pared down supplier networks governed by tight cost controls.

Recalibration 3: What is replaced by why

Challenging times always result in deep questioning about meaning and purpose. In the current crisis, the focus on what a company does is being replaced by a concern for why is does it. Its actions are scrutinized as much for the reasons behind them as for their outcome. As a result, over the past few weeks there have been many pressures on organizations to support furloughed employees, protect smaller suppliers caught by a lack of cashflow, reduce executive pay to reasonable levels, and partner with charitable and emergency services to assist those in need. Former governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, recently described this as putting values above valuations. Organizations are being judged directly on their position on key social issues, and on their active involvement in community actions. Dyson and McLaren forming rapid partnerships to create ventilators for hospitals are great examples. But such efforts must not be seen as either one-off, or self-serving. Future loyalty from employees and customers relies on an authentic, meaningful, and on-going sense of purpose. As organizations recover from the current shock, it will matter how they dealt with these issues, and may rebalance markets in ways unthinkable a few weeks ago.

So, the question for me about the implications of the current crisis on future strategy is not about whether there is lasting impact. Rather, it is how well you recognize the recalibration taking place in your environment, what that means for the strategic direction you are taking, and how quickly you can embrace the transformation necessary to thrive in the future that awaits. The temptation will be to return to previous ways of thinking and imagine that the current disruption is no more than an incremental push along the road to digital ways of working. It is not. It is point of no return.

Instead, it may be more appropriate to look at the current crisis as a watershed for digital transformation. A chance to reset several of the parameters for success in a digital world. And above all, to not look back. Perhaps we should follow the example of the 16th Century explorer Cortes, who arrived at the shores of Mexico after a long and tortuous journey and gave the order to burn the boats. There’s no turning back.

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In this new war, the emergence of technological solutions has been the light at the end of the tunnel. Extraordinary challenges require extraordinary solutions and it is great to see we can develop them at high speed, in often unexpected collaborations. Creativity has risen to an unprecedented level and ideas have come from unexpected sectors and corners.

Let’s shed some light on some of the most innovative tech solutions that have sprung up throughout the world:

Virus tracking tech – enabling us to fight at the right place, quicker

Thanks to the exponential growth of connectivity and data we have the ability to track the spread of the disease rapidly. This is crucial: the better we track, the better we fight the disease.

The Canadian start-up BlueDot has proven to be able to pre-warn us about outbreaks. They have had relevant information prior to Centres for Disease Control. Metabiota, a health tech company, offered early analysis about the virus’s spread, which led to a warning that the virus would reach South Korea, Japan and Taiwan a week earlier than expected. This enabled everyone in those regions to take appropriate measures, with better results. By tracking the disease, we can help contain its spread.

Diagnostic and preventative tech – improving accuracy & speed

In this pandemic, diagnosing the virus correctly, but at great speed, is crucial. Tech helps us to do this too.

Airports, most of which are more or less closed by now, have used technology to track infections, by taking people’s temperatures. Biosticker, for instance, can speed this up; it measures an individual’s temperature, respiration rate and coughing, and can transmit updates every 10 minutes.

The company Infervision have developed an AI solution that helps healthcare workers to detect and monitor the disease more effectively. The solution improves CT diagnosis speed. Remote health apps with chatbots that use AI can also screen people to check who is feverish and can be used simply by people at home. Initial advice can be given via chatbot, taking some of the pressure on general practitioners away.

Deploying robots to the Corona battlefields

Robots could play a crucial part in crises such as these, since they cannot become infected. We can and should use them as much as possible where it is risky to use humans. Blue Ocean Robotics can be sent to the virus battlefield. They use ultraviolet light to kill bacteria and viruses.

We have no time to lose, literally. People must be protected. Robots can work in our place – they are not at risk. The company Blue Ocean Robotics, moves around hospitals by itself, taking elevators and stairs without any problem and without any worries of the virus. It disinfects 99.9% of bacteria and viruses. It is not in the way and does not interrupt staff workflow. Through a Chinese partner, Sunay Healthcare Supply, the robots have been deployed since February in all Chinese provinces.

Collaboration without barriers

The war against the virus has united us – encouraging us to collaborate more throughout the world. This goes for the tech sector too. In the US, the Consumer Technology Association has partnered with the World Bank Group on the Global Tech Challenge, calling on tech companies around the globe to develop innovative solutions together.

One result of this collaborative ecosystem is that tech startups are actively involved with specialists in hospitals, academics and government entities around the world to activate technology. In the Netherlands, DSM CEO Feike Sijbesma had just handed over to his successors, only to be asked by the minister of health to support the government in acquiring more test materials. Governments are acknowledging global business leadership and knowledge of technology is a crucial skill they need. The crisis requires us to put everyone’s valuable experience and skillsets into service.

The Coronavirus outbreak is a huge challenge, yet there is an opportunity for Tech to prove its value to the world. I personally hope that it will help Tech for Good to become the norm, rather than the exception. With the right mindset and collaborative approach, we create a world that is so strong we can face any challenge.

Originally posted here

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXnyTptZYRE&feature=youtu.be

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But there are merits going it alone and seeking first-mover regulatory advantage in this complex, interconnected world. As we leave the EU, the UK is in a strong position to carve out a uniquely British model of regulation that is compliant with international law and systemic, rather than palliative or reactive. Much of the foundations are already in place; taken together they would increase competitiveness, support our national values and lead the world in enhancing free speech, protecting children and the elderly and improving national security.

As the UK goes it alone outside the EU, it is already clear that standing on our own two feet in setting laws in the digital sphere may not be straightforward. The OECD “warned” the UK in no uncertain terms recently that it should drop its proposals for a tax on the big tech giants and wait for a global solution; the US rattles its threat of tariffs in response; and the early salvos in what will be a complex set of negotiations and trade-offs for a UK-US trade deal are underway.

For example, the UK can:

• Protect children, preserve childhood online, export our approach – a statutory duty of care – work which has been championed by Carnegie UK Trust– supported by a code of practice drawn up with expert stakeholders would be central to protecting children online. Other regulatory components would bolster the duty of care, in particular the world-leading Age Appropriate Design Code, recently published by the Information Commissioner’s Office.
• Attack scams and fraudsters who prey on the elderly – online fraud is now the most prevalent property crime in England and Wales. The social media platforms where so much of this crime happens should take responsibility for what happens on their service, and this can be done by applying a statutory duty of care to a range of economic crimes including copyright abuse that effect consumers and SMEs online.
• Enhance and promote people’s rights and democratic engagement. We have a right to speak, but not if we use that speech to silence or intimidate others, or to manipulate democratic engagement. Human rights law gives governments positive obligations to help promote and protect speech. The duty of care regime we set out will require companies to have regard to human rights instruments when taking steps to reduce harm and protect the rights of women, children, disabled people and those from gender and minority ethnic communities to speak without fear and participate fully in democratic debate. See Professor Lorna Woods’ recent comprehensive paper on fundamental rights and a duty of care.
• Level up for free trade. We can influence the new rules for online services being made around the world over the next few years. France, Germany, Singapore and Australia already have basic internet-specific laws in place.  The EU is about to dive into years of complex argument about an EU regulator in the Digital Services Act. Ireland, India, Canada, The Netherlands and New Zealand are considering new law and Japan is under pressure to tighten theirs.  The UK statutory duty of care proposal is the only comprehensive, straightforward package.  With OFCOM as regulator already obliged to be proportionate in its approach to SMEs and others, this will give British companies a headstart in designing services to be safe in any market without constraining innovation.
• Help British start-ups with a ruthless focus on anti-competitive behaviour. The UK has a healthy innovation ecosystem that underpins new markets. Anti-competitive behaviour by the big tech companies is becoming a huge concern. The Furman Review for the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) made the world-leading suggestion of structurally opening-up the tech platforms to allow competition in.  The ICO and the CMA are studying the digital advertising market that funds the biggest operators. Government should strongly support these regulators if action is needed and study the cross-over to online harms.  

Taken together, it is clear that the UK is probably the only country where there is concerted, effective action underway to tackle the full swathe of issues caused by largely unregulated tech companies. Across the developed world, regulation is becoming the new cost of doing business online and Britain could get ahead of the curve and have the best system: effective, but proportionate. Being regulated here should be a badge of entry to other markets, making the UK should an attractive place for companies to design products and services. The government should keep its eyes on that prize – and not blink first.

For a summary of the duty of care proposal for online harm reduction, take a listen to the recent RightsCast podcast with Professor Lorna Woods.

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Here, Patrick explains the city’s plans to tackle challenges and to inspire both personal and business growth through improved digital connectivity, leaving no one and nowhere behind.

Understanding the challenges that face our communities is critical in our journey to build a smart city of the future, equipped to instil confidence and support individuals and businesses alike to thrive with fast, efficient connections and support networks at their fingertips. 

2019 saw the launch of our City Plan, which provides the insight and blueprint to effect change over the next ten years and beyond. It is built around three interdependent themes: dynamic, healthy and vibrant. These three areas position Sunderland as an excellent place to live, learn and earn with support mechanisms underpinning access to education, employment and economic prosperity for Sunderland’s residents and businesses.

At the core of all activities in the City Plan is digital connectivity. As an existing digital leader in the UK, Sunderland is known as a forward-thinking place in which businesses and educators collaborate to continue to lead in the field of digital innovation.

My vision is of a digitally connected city in which no one is left behind. Listening to the needs of our communities and ensuring individuals and businesses remain connected and feel confident is critical.

Our ambitious team of innovators, made up of digital experts from within the council and our partners, worked tirelessly on a fast-paced programme of activities to place Sunderland on the global map as one of the first cities in the UK to deploy 5G speeds over WiFi. Successfully launching free ultrafast connectivity of 1Gbps in parts of the city centre in December 2019. 

Greater internet speeds and much more capacity will enable schools to transform teaching and learning for children. The benefits to adults include improved access to universal credits online, access to digital skills training and equipment in dedicated community rooms with our partners Gentoo, plus, importantly, a significant boost to confidence and knowledge levels across the city with access to the best WiFi download speeds in the country. 

We will continue to leverage our digital capabilities to instil confidence to enrich the lives of individuals who choose to live, learn and earn in our Smart City as well as augmenting our offer as a revolutionary destination for inward investment and business growth.   

We have numerous test beds and initiatives already in place plus many more planned which enable individuals, groups and businesses to instantly access information, data and support. With a National Assistive Technology testbed and the University of Sunderland’s innovative Living Lab, we are enabling the next generation of highly trained healthcare providers to utilise learning methods powered by digital innovation. 

Alongside our smart city programme and our own investment in next generation wired and wireless connectivity, these examples illustrate our drive to ensure Sunderland’s standing as a healthy, vibrant and dynamic city is supported and empowered by our ongoing investment through innovative partnerships. 

Our city vision will equip Sunderland with the digital means to transform the capabilities of local businesses and the lives of local people. The difference this will make to individuals across the city, as well as companies doing business here, is immeasurable. Everything we do now with smart devices will be better and faster, plus exciting innovations such as AR (augmented reality) and mobile virtual reality can be actualised.

With heightened access to speedy, reliable networks to maximise connectivity and global business opportunities; Sunderland-based organisations will be further equipped to compete on a worldwide scale. Connecting people to places via a decade of social and digital transformation will accelerate city-wide improvements for generations to come. 

Explore our case studies, projects and success stories and find out more about our Smart City Plan at https://www.sunderlandoursmartcity.com/

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Birmingham City University has landed £3.4 million funding to create the new technological centre which will be based at its STEAMhouse facility in Birmingham’s Digbeth district.

The funding will be used to purchase state-of-the-art equipment such as virtual reality development packs, computer hardboards and the latest design software, to help boost business growth and support innovation.

It will also see the opening of a new Digital Design Suite at the site.

Funding for the project has been secured from the European Structural and Investment Funds, Birmingham City University and Eastside Projects.

The project will provide training for businesses on some of the newest and emerging technologies, providing a platform for innovation, the development of new ideas and the creation of new start-ups.

Facilities will be created to allow people to access the latest in Virtual, Augmented and Mixed Reality technology, as well as new Digital Circuitry and Digital Design services, alongside a full programme of business support.

The technology could have an impact on a range of key sectors including health and education, as well as supporting the development of new products.

Businesses will be given training in the use of the technologies.

Professor Julian Beer, deputy vice-chancellor at Birmingham City University, said: “We opened STEAMhouse to provide a space and a platform for businesses to collaborate with artists and academics, to drive innovation and new business ideas.

“This funding will allow us to provide a new wave of state-of-the-art equipment which will have a major impact on how businesses work in the future and the creation of new industries.

“Incorporating artistry and creativity alongside science and tech disciplines can be a major driving force not just in transforming how a concept goes from design to market, but also the real world difference it will make to users.

“Technology like virtual reality, augmented reality, 5G and digital design will pave the way for the business of the future and now is the time for us to look at how we can harness this for the benefit of the economy.

The project has been tailored to meet the priorities of the region’s Local Enterprise Partnership.

The next phase of the STEAMhouse project is currently underway, which will see redevelopment of a historic Birmingham building.

The Grade A listed, 120-year-old Belmont Works site, which has stood derelict since a fire in 2007, will be transformed to house STEAMhouse Phase 2 providing more spaces, equipment and opportunities for entrepreneurs and innovators.

It will include a special programme called ‘STEAMincubator’ which will provide new spaces, facilities and collaboration opportunities for start-ups.

Since opening its first phase in Digbeth, STEAMhouse has already helped create more than 50 new West Midlands businesses, created over 25 new research partnerships and invested nearly £70,000 in financial support.

This blog was originally published here.

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