Leading academics from Northumbria
University, Newcastle, are carrying out research to investigate whether an
increased use of digital information as part of the UK’s response to Covid-19 could
lead to a break down in public trust.
The work, entitled Observatory
for Monitoring Data-Driven Approaches to COVID-19 (OMDDAC), will be led by Marion
Oswald from Northumbria Law School in partnership with the Royal United
Services Institute (RUSI). It will focus upon legal, ethical, policy and
operational challenges for data-driven responses being developed rapidly. These
include combining digital health datasets within a single dashboard, use of
communications data to map trends, monitoring of quarantine behaviour by drones
and automated number plate recognition, and access to Bluetooth data for
contact tracing.
Funding for the project has come
the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) as part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI’s) rapid response to COVID-19.
Marion Oswald,
Vice-Chancellor’s Senior Fellow in Law at Northumbria, said: “Data-driven responses to COVID-19 are being developed at
speed across the public sector, academia and commercial sector. While the
incentive for moving fast is understandable, developing technology without
appropriate consideration of the contextual background and resulting
interventions brings with it a high risk of errors, limited efficacy and
unintended consequences for individuals. These risks are particularly
pronounced for already disadvantaged sections of the population with low levels
of trust in government. Our Observatory will work to counter these risks
by analysing these responses and collating lessons learned and guidelines for
future data-driven responses to pandemics.”
OMDDAC is a collaboration between Northumbria and RUSI, including
researchers with technology law, data protection law, medical law, practical
ethics, computer science, data science, applied statistics in health,
technology studies and behavioural science expertise. Project partners and
advisers include the Ada Lovelace Institute, CDEI, medConfidential and Lord
Jonathan Evans of Weardale.
In particular,
the research will investigate operational challenges arising from data
acquisition and analysis, technology development and implementation. Legal and
ethical challenges encountered during development will also be covered, along
with governance and policy challenges. OMDDAC will capture and synthesize
lessons learned in these three areas and make recommendations on how they can
be addressed for future policy and governance of data science innovation
projects.
Professor George
Marston, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation at Northumbria, added:
“OMDDAC's researchers have a track record of influencing public sector policy
and practice and they will be able to draw on a powerful and multi-disciplinary
range of practical and academic expertise to address vital questions around
efficacy of data-driven approaches and impact on individual rights. Securing
funding for this project is yet another clear example of how Northumbria’s
world-renowned research is making a positive impact on some of the most
pressing issues facing society today.”
OMDDAC is one of four successful
research bids worth in excess of £1.2 million, secured by Northumbria recently
as part of UKRI’s rapid response to the challenges of Covid-19.
As principal investigator and OMDDAC
Director, Marion Oswald will be joined in the research project by
Alexander Babuta,
Research Fellow, RUSI and OMDDAC Co-Director, and senior researchers at
Northumbria Dr Mark Warner and Dr Matthew Higgs from Computer and Information Sciences,
Dr Guangquan Li from the Department of Mathematics, Physics and Electrical
Engineering, and Associate Professors Claire Bessant and Charlotte Emmett from
Northumbria Law School.
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Notes to editors:
About UK Research and Innovation
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