Focus Areas

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Data for Policy Focus Areas

The Data for Policy community has grown in size and area since its inception in 2014. With an increasing number of sectors and disciplines represented, in 2021 the community leadership put forward a six area framework intended to aid organisation of journal and conference contributions.

This framework of six focus areas is intended to evolve with the community, capturing the dynamic nature of the data for policy research space. The framework is applied flexibly, with recognition that the areas are interrelated, and that research may fit into more than one area.

We have appointed a committee of experts for each area; these committees function to lead peer review of conference and journal submissions in their respective areas, and engage with the wider community to encourage new submissions and stimulate interdisciplinary thinking. 

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: Data Technologies and Analytics for Policy and Governance
  • Data Science and Artificial Intelligence;
  • Behavioural and predictive analytics;
  • Digital Twins, Ledger Systems, Platforms, Cloud Technologies etc.
  • Edge analytics and federated learning;
  • User interaction and experience;
  • Methodological innovations;
  • GovTech, RegTech, LegalTech, CivicTech etc.
  • Gaps in theory and practice.
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 databased services and processes;
  • Open science, open 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 current membership of the area committees can be found on our People page.