Conference Tracks

Data for Policy has six non-domain specific and overarching areas of interest for the conference and journal. The areas are interrelated and do not indicate siloed activity. They are rather an articulation of the breadth and depth of the vision and mission for improved data-driven decisions and policymaking, which is the ethos of the Data for Policy community. The six areas are the bases for the conference’s standard tracks, as follows:

Area 1: Digital & Data-driven Transformations in Governance
  • From data to decisions: knowledge generation and evidence formation;
  • Process, psychology and behaviour of decision-making in digital era;
  • Government operations and services;
  • Government-citizen interactions; and open government;
  • Democracy, public deliberation, public infrastructure, justice, media;
  • Public, private and voluntary sector governance and policy-making.
Area 2: Technologies & Analytics
  • Data Science and Artificial Intelligence;
  • Behavioural and predictive analytics;
  • Large language models – foundation models;
  • Digital Twins, Ledger Systems, Platforms, Cloud Technologies etc.
  • Edge analytics and federated learning;
  • User interaction and experience;
  • GovTech, RegTech, LegalTech, CivicTech etc.
Area 3: Policy & Literacy for Data
  • Governance, law and management of data and associated technologies;
  • Design principles and impact assessment;
  • Literacy, translation, communication;
  • Intermediaries, trusts, collaboratives;
  • Regulation of data-based services and processes;
  • Open science, open research infrastructure, and FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable) practice
Area 4: Ethics, Equity & Trustworthiness
  • Privacy, data sharing and consent;
  • Uncertainties, error and
bias in data-driven processes;
  • Human rights, values and self-determination;
  • Information and power asymmetry;
  • Responsibility, benevolence, and maliciousness;
  • Fairness, transparency, explainability, accountability, interpretability and reliability;
  • Validation, assurance and certification of data-driven services
Area 5: Algorithmic Governance
  • Automation of government/governance processes and services;
  • Good governance through/with/by/of algorithms;
  • Algorithm agency in decision-making: potentials and perils;
  • Algorithmic behaviour in socio-economic contexts;
  • Human agency in algorithmic governance;
  • Human-machine collaboration models in critical decision-making.
Area 6: Global Challenges & Dynamic Threats
  • Human existence and the planet;
  • Inequalities and discrimination;
  • Sustainability and environment;
  • Global shocks and resilience;
  • Population health and pandemics;
  • Security, organised crime and hostile environments;
  • International collaboration.
The standard tracks are complemented by ten special tracks (see linked page for full description):

 

Special Track 1: Establishing an Allied by Design AI ecosystem

 

Special Track 2: Anticipating Migration for Policymaking

 

Special Track 3: AI, Ethics and Policy Governance in Africa

 

Special Track 4: Social Media and Government

 

Special Track 5: Critical perspectives on the governance of AI datasets

 

Special Track 6: Generative AI for Sound Decision-making

 

Special Track 7: Governance of Health Data for AI Innovation

 

Special Track 8: Accelerating collective decision intelligence

 

Special Track 9: Artificial Intelligence, Bureaucracy, and Organizations

 

Special Track 10: AI and data science to strengthen official statistics