We’re really happy to launch our newsletter, which will be sent to all our subscribers today. The newsletter will provide updates of our work on the Data for Policy conference and Data & Policy journal, highlights and news from our wider community, and recommendations of activities and events outside our network. We hope you will enjoy reading the first edition, which is available in pdf here.
We are delighted to announce the appointment of new Area Editors to the Data for Policy and Data & Policy community.
Their appointment comes at an exciting time for us, as our peer-reviewed, open access journal, Data & Policy, continues to expand, and we prepare for our sixth international conference taking place 14-16 September 2021.
Over 20 Area Editors have been appointed from more than 10 countries to play an important role in our strategic development. Forming six interdisciplinary committees, they join us to help commission and review papers; promote community activities; and provide thought leadership across our core areas of interest, helping to understand the landscape of data-policy interactions. The six areas include:
On their appointment, Data for Policy founder and Data & Policy Editor in Chief, Dr Zeynep Engin, said:
We are really delighted to welcome our new Area Editors from across the globe, whose range and depth of expertise will play an integral part to the strategic development of the journal and the conference.
Learn more about our Area Editors.
Contacts: For all questions related to Data for Policy 2021, please contact team@dataforpolicy.org; and for questions relating to Data & Policy, please contact dataandpolicy@cambridge.org.
The Data for Policy conference series is the premier global forum for multiple disciplinary and cross-sector discussions around the theories, applications and implications of data science innovation in governance and the public sector.
Convening for the sixth time from 14-16 September 2021, this year’s conference will recognise the additional focus on data throughout the whole of society as a consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the opportunities this creates for learning about and developing data and policy interactions.
The Call for Papers and Panel Session Proposals is currently open, and the deadline is 25 March 2021. We are accepting full paper submissions, and all submissions will also be considered for potential post-conference publication in our partner journal, Data & Policy (subject to peer-review).
We are planning for a physical event, and we hope that presenters will be able to join us in person. However, we would like to reassure you that we understand that this may be difficult, or even impossible, and we will adapt the conference proceedings accordingly to accommodate virtual presentations where necessary.
We’re also pleased to announce an additional Special Track for this year’s conference, entitled ‘Systemic engagement: Mobility as a Service (MaaS) and the design challenge of inclusion, sustainability, and data ownership‘, chaired by Ronit Purian and Avi Cohen.
For further information, and full instructions on how to submit, visit our website.
Contacts: For all questions related to conference submissions, please contact team@dataforpolicy.org; and for questions relating to publication in Data & Policy, please contact dataandpolicy@cambridge.org.
We are pleased to announce the Call for Papers and Panel Session Proposals for Data for Policy 2021: Lessons for policy-data interactions after Covid-19.
Our conference series is the premier global forum for multiple disciplinary and cross-sector discussions around the theories, applications and implications of data science innovation in governance and the public sector.
Convening for the sixth time from 14-16 September 2021, this year’s conference will recognise the additional focus on data throughout the whole of society as a consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the opportunities this creates for learning about and developing data and policy interactions.
We invite extended abstract or full paper and panel session proposals across the following areas of interest, overseen by newly appointed editorial committees, who are working to develop each area:
And across nine special tracks:
Deadline for submissions is 25 March 2021. Submissions will also be considered for potential post-conference publication in our partner journal, Data & Policy (subject to peer-review).
For further information, and full instructions on how to submit, visit our website.
Contacts: For all questions related to conference submissions, please contact team@dataforpolicy.org; and for questions relating to publication in Data & Policy, please contact dataandpolicy@cambridge.org.
We’re pleased to announce the call for Special Track proposals for Data for Policy 2021, which will take place in London, 14-16 September 2021. Please see the Conference page on this site for further details. The deadline for proposals is 10th December.
Data & Policy is a peer-reviewed, open access journal – published by Cambridge University Press in association with the non-profit Community Interest Company that governs the conference – that is dedicated to deepening understanding about how systems of policy and data relate to each other (“policy-data interactions”), and engaging with new trends in the dissemination of knowledge.
We are seeking someone with expertise in digital communications and an interest in the way that data science is transforming policy and governance to help us develop our social media and communications strategy for two related projects.
The Communications Editor will join a small team of people who are developing a community from the overlapping groups involved with the two projects. The ideal candidate would be an all-rounder, capable of thinking strategically about the channels of communication to embed this ethos, as well as being prepared to get on with some more routine tasks such as regular social media posts.
We are able to offer a small annual payment, but this will be a stimulating opportunity for an individual with an interest in the area.
For further details of this opportunity, please see the advertisement on the Data & Policy website.
See also the opportunity for Data & Policy Area Editors
Data & Policy is a peer-reviewed, open access journal exploring the relationship between data science, policy and governance, published by Cambridge University Press in association with Data for Policy. The journal’s Editors-in-Chief are Zeynep Engin (UCL), Jon Crowcroft (Cambridge & The Alan Turing Institute) and Stefaan Verhulst (The GovLab, NYU); they are assisted by Editorial and Advisory Boards.
The journal aims to deepen knowledge about how policy and data relate to each other (“policy-data interactions”), as explored in the opening editorial. The recruitment of six Area Editors who can commission and handle papers that relate to this aim are part of the next phase of development.
For further details of this opportunity, please see Call for Area Editors on the Data & Policy website.
See also the opportunity for a Communications Editor
We happy to announce that recordings from our Conference are available now on our YouTube channel
Our Keynotes feature Professors David Hand (Imperial College) on ‘Dark Data’, Alessandro Vespignani (Northeastern University) on ‘Computational Epidemiology at the time of COVID-19’ and Yi Zeng (Beijing Academy) on ‘Philosophy & Ethics of Brain-inspired AI’
Opening plenary chaired by Barbara Ubaldi (OECD)
Speakers: Jeffrey Schlagenhauf, Deputy Secretary-General OECD; Sir Peter Gluckmann, Former Chief Scientific Advisor, New Zealand; Zuena Aziz, Chief Coordinator for Sustainable Development Goals Affairs in the Prime Minister’s Office, Bangladesh; Jeanine Vos, Head of SDG Accelerator, GSMA
Data & Policy plenary chaired by Matt Day (Cambridge University Press)
Speakers: Jean Claude Burgelman, Vrije University Brussels; former Head of Unit Open Data Policies and Science Cloud DG RTD, European Commission; Samia Melhem, Global Lead on Digital Capabilities, Digital Development Practice, World Bank; Martijn Poel, Senior Policy Official, Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science
Closing plenary chaired by C. Leigh Anderson (University of Washington)
Speakers: Katie Atkinson, Dean of Electrical Engineering, Electronics, and Computer Science, University of Liverpool; Kamau Bobb, Global Lead, Diversity Strategy and Research at Google; Torbjörn Fredriksson, Head of ICT Analysis Section of the Division on Technology and Logistics, UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD); Himanshu Nagpal, Deputy Director Financial Services for the Poor, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
The Data for Policy Conference is over for another year. In a highly successful online format, the Conference ran from 15 – 17 September, and hosted over 100 speakers and 200 attendees from around the world. Themes were broad-ranging including consideration of data governance and quality, the ethics of data use and data technologies applied to areas such as sustainable development, smart cities and the Covid-19 pandemic. Comprehensive social media coverage ensured a lively conversation after each session https://twitter.com/dataforpolicy #dataforpolicy2020
Keynote lectures proved highly popular, with Professor David Hand’s lecture ‘Dark Data’ highlighting the importance of the data that we don’t know. Professor Alessandro Vespignani provided insights into large-scale data driven models for infectious disease threats in his lecture ‘Computational Epidemiology at the time of Covid-19’. In our final lecture, ‘Philosophy and Ethics of Brain-Inspired AI’ Professor Yi Zeng delved into the philosophical foundations of approaches to AI.
Three plenary sessions featured an array of panellists from a variety of backgrounds. In the opening plenary, panellists discussed the relevance of data use for public value. Our partner organisation, Cambridge University Press hosted a panel to consider how interactions between data and policy could be produced and shared to achieve impact. In the closing plenary, the panel debated pertinent issues of inequality.
Participants in the Conference commented on the smart and interesting papers and presentations, the international scope, the depth and breadth of the presenters, as well as the excellent organisation.
The Conference Programme is available at https://dataforpolicy.org/data-for-policy-2020/#1568270314913-020f9ed5-7437
Pre-recorded presentations from Conference speakers are available here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSWCKLnPiRKYTj2sHSc0HEgWNnL8P7HK6
We are pleased to launch the Programme for Data for Policy 2020 – the full Programme can be viewed on our website here
The registration deadline has been extended to Friday, 4th September 2020 – book now to secure a place!
Moving to an online format for the first time, this year’s conference continues the multi-disciplinary, cross-sectoral, global conversation on the theories, applications and implications of data science innovation in governance and the public sector. The conference provides an unmissable opportunity for networking as leading international scholars, policy makers, international institutions and private sector organisations from across the world are participating. Data for Policy 2020 truly is a one of a kind, unmissable event.
Featured participants include:
Keynote Speakers:
Special sessions include:
Organisations represented include:
Aapti Institute, India | Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation | Monash University, Australia | The Center for Economic Research and Teaching, Mexico | Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, UK | Hong Kong University of Science and Technology | Information and Training Outreach Centre for Africa | International Digital Accountability Council, USA | Qatar Computing Research Institute | Simon Fraser University, Canada | The Chinese University of Hong Kong | The Hebrew University of Jerusalem | United Nations University Institute in Macau | University College Dublin | Unicamp, Brazil | The Alan Turing Institute, UK | University of Oxford | University of the Aegean | University of Tokyo | World Wide Web Foundation, Indonesia | UK Statistics Authority | Ministry of Justice, UK | Sharif Governance Think Tank, Iran | Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, Germany | Leiden University, Netherlands | Lapin Limited, Jersey | KIMEP University, Kazakhstan | National Institute for Economic and Social Research, UK | Ada Lovelace Institute, UK | Future of Privacy Forum, USA | University of Cambridge | European Commission | Office for National Statistics, UK | Quinten, France
Data for Policy is committed to increasing diversity in its delegate community and we are therefore delighted to offer Data for Policy Ambassador scholarships to suitable candidates. We particularly welcome applications from groups which are currently underrepresented in our community, in particular those from developing nations, who will extend our geographic diversity. For further details, and how to apply, please visit our website: Data for Policy Ambassador scholarships – deadline for application is 21st August
We are recruiting event assistant and social media/blog volunteers to assist with the running of the Conference. Please see our website for how to apply: Data for Policy Event Assistants and Data for Policy Social Media/Blog Assistants – deadline for application is 21st August
Reflections from past conferences:
“Data for Policy provides a unique opportunity to have a dialogue across many disciplinary boundaries, it’s a forum in which we can ask questions and move collectively towards solutions, we can share methods. I think it’s invaluable.”
Professor Anthony Finkelstein, Chief Scientific Advisor for National Security to the UK Government – Data for Policy 2016
“This is the beginning of the dialogue that really needs to happen between policy makers and data scientists, so that they don’t find themselves warring with each other, but instead try to cooperate and move together to protect both the subjects of Big Data analysis and the ability to use this data to better inform policy and government.”
Professor Jim Waldo, Chief Technology Officer, Harvard University – Data for Policy 2016
“It’s fantastic to come here and take the temperature of what’s going on in this field and hopefully out of this we can begin to look ahead and see where the new connections are going to be made between ideas and data science.”
David Mair, Head of Unit at the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission – Data for Policy 2016
“It is the first time I have had the opportunity to take part in this type of discussion – getting a sense of where political thinking is and where academic thinking is. Forums like this can provide the thought leadership that is necessary in this area.”
John Sheridan, Head of Legislation Services, UK National Archives – Data for Policy 2015
Supporting Institutions:
Data for Policy Team
