Catalysing economic growth: releasing the value of big data

How will Big Data affect innovation, growth and well-being in the UK economy? By Big Data we mean very large or complex datasets that are constantly accumulating in society because of the dramatically increased ability to sense, capture, store and analyse information about social, economic, or scientific phenomena. We anticipate that Big Data and associated analytics may ultimately transform how societies and communities view themselves, and how governments, large corporations, and entrepreneurial startup companies relate to those populations. Therefore it is essential to consider how Big Data might contribute to economic growth and generate opportunities for innovation for UK companies. To shape this discussion, we propose a multi-disciplinary approach that combines economic modelling and measurement, business modelling, and insight into technological dynamics.

This project will create, analyse and describe new economic and business models for valuing Big Data and demonstrate how this can impact upon economic growth for the UK economy. Outputs from this work are directly relevant to policy makers and companies wishing to understand how to harness Big Data. We will investigate both how firms innovate and compete around Big Data and how the local technical and regulatory frameworks enable the commercialization and consumption of the information that Big Data generate. We intend to combine the unique capabilities within Imperial College London to investigate this area of great economic potential and deliver real-word impact through publications, events, education, and direct industry and policy engagement.

Our proposed research brings together leading scholars in Economics, Business, and Computing to investigate critical societal and industrial issues related to Big Data. We will analyse data value chains to shed light on value creation based on large datasets; we will examine firms' strategies in standardization and governance of data assets and activities in network industries, as well as individuals' preferences and constraints in creating and sharing data, to highlight private parties' attempts to capture value from these datasets. We will also investigate the regional implications for Big Data capabilities and effects on macroeconomic performance. In addressing each of these business and economic questions, we will consider ongoing technological dynamics in the area of computing, in particular, in terms of data quality, management, protection, and sharing agreements.

This project will deliver tangible outputs that are directly applicable to the economic measurement, analysis and policy of the UK through enhancing our understanding of the economic potential of Big Data in the rapidly changing digital economy. We deliver this through several channels:

Engagement with a variety of companies ranging from multinationals to SMEs to understand their challenges. We will develop a detailed understanding of the barriers and opportunities that companies face, and eventually translate the research insights into managerial advice. This will contribute to a better understanding of the macroeconomic effects of big data, as well as potential policy levers to promote entrepreneurial activity within this area in the UK. We will invite our industrial partners and research subjects to participate in our workshops, engage in research interviews, and contribute to the interpretation and application of our research results through public debates in our final conference and subsequent executive education programs.

Improved measurement protocols for statistics agencies and firms. Independent academic studies such as ours using state-of-the-art methods improve the opportunities of agencies and firms to apply the new methods in the Big Data era. We will impact statistics agencies throughout our research directly by utilizing and expanding their datasets, and providing them with our reports on the enhanced methods for data collection and evaluation.

Enhance UK management and policy competence around Big Data. The specific channels include events such as workshops, public lectures, and panel discussions for sharing of ideas; communication and cooperation with policymakers during the research project; and training of future policy experts through postgraduate education.

Managerial tools that companies can apply to develop their understanding of the Big Data challenge. Our tools will help managers understand when to invest in Big Data activities, why they might benefit from opening access to their data sources and how to understand and mitigate the risks associated with Big Data in an era of pervasive digital communication. This will be delivered to the community via the creation of templates and typologies of, and analytical frameworks for Big Data business models that exist in the UK and elsewhere.

Incorporation into the learning objectives and materials of current and future students, at undergraduate and postgraduate levels of education as well as executive education. Through these educational channels, the project outcomes can be delivered quickly and directly into the hands of future industrial leaders. Examples include the delivery of case study materials, conceptual frameworks, as well as detailed quantitative analyses that illustrate the social and macroeconomic implications of big data.

New light on the economic issues associated with the protection of privacy and data security. This project will highlight the partly conflicting incentives of individuals, businesses, and governments in creating, managing and capturing value from Big Data, which are often manifested in legal controversies. These new ideas will be disseminated through the planned public events (workshops and conferences), and through articles and opinions in mainstream news media.

Sharing of ideas, methods, and research results between the Economics, Computing, and Business scholarly communities. Through our workshops and conference with external partners and using the networking resources, we will facilitate a shared understanding of the economic issues related to the Big Data business, informed by technological constraints and dynamics, within the broader scholarly communities in question. Moreover, we will disseminate the outputs of this project throughout the NEMODE and Sustainable Society Network+ communities and generate closer ties for researchers, academics and companies interested in the Big Data space.