SPRITE+ 2: The Security, Privacy, Identity and Trust Engagement Networkplus (phase 2).
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Manchester
Department Name: Social Sciences
Abstract
Digital technologies and services are shaping our lives. Work, education, finance, health, politics and society are all affected. They also raise concomitant and complex challenges relating to the security of and trust in systems and data. TIPS (Trust, Identity, Privacy and Security) issues thus lie at the heart of our adoption of new technologies and are critical to our economic prosperity and the well-being of our citizens. Identifying and addressing such issues requires a coherent, coordinated, multi-disciplinary approach, with strong stakeholder relationships at the centre.
SPRITE+ is a vehicle for communication, engagement, and collaboration for people involved in research, practice, and policy relevant to TIPS in digital contexts. Since launching in 2019, we have established ourselves as the go-to point of contact to engage with the broadest UK network of interdisciplinary, cross-sector digital TIPS experts.
The second phase of SPRITE+ ('SPRITE+2') will continue to build our membership, whilst expanding the breadth and depth of our innovation, and deepen our impact through proactive engagement.
SPRITE+2 will have the following objectives:
1. Expand our TIPS community, harnessing the expertise and collaborative potential of the national and international TIPS communities
2. Identify and prioritise future TIPS research challenges
3. Explore and develop priority research areas to enhance our collective understanding of future global TIPS challenges
4. Stimulate innovative research through sandpits, industry led calls, and horizon scanning
5. Deepen engagement with TIPS research end users across sectors to accelerate knowledge Exchange
6. Understand, inform, and influence policy making and practice at regional, national and international level
These will be delivered through four work packages and two cross cutting activities. All work packages will be led by the PI (Elliot) to ensure that connections are made and synergies exploited. Each sub-work package will be led by a member of the Management Team and supported by our Expert Fellows and Project Partners.
WP1 Develop the Network
We will deliver a set of activities designed to expand, broaden, and engage the network, from expert meetings and workshops to student bootcamps and international conferences.
WP2 Engage stakeholders to enhance knowledge exchange and deliver impact.
We will be greatly enhancing our purposive engagement activity in SPRITE+2. This activity will include a new business intelligence function and PP engagement grants, designed to enhance mutual understanding between researchers and stakeholders.
WP3 Identify, prioritise, and explore future TIPS challenges
We will select and then investigate priority areas of future TIPS. Two areas are pre-scoped based on the work we have done so far in SPRITE+ (TIPS in digital cities; trustworthy digital identities) with a further two be identified during the lead up to SPRITE+2.
WP4 Drive innovation in research
This WP concerns the initiation and production of high-quality impactful research. Through horizon scanning, sandpits and industry-led calls, we will steer ideas through an innovation pipeline ensuring SPRITE+2 is future focused.
Cross cutting activities
The first cross-cutting activity will accelerate the translation of TIPS research into policy and practice for public and private sector end uses. The second focuses on mechanisms to facilitate communication within our community.
The experiences of SPRITE+ and the other DE Network+s demonstrate that it takes years of consistent and considerable effort for a new network to grow membership and develop productive relationships with stakeholders. In SPRITE+2 grant we would hit the ground running and maximise the impact of four additional years of funding. A successful track record, a well-established team, and a raft of ambitious new plans provide a solid foundation for strong delivery in 2023-27.
SPRITE+ is a vehicle for communication, engagement, and collaboration for people involved in research, practice, and policy relevant to TIPS in digital contexts. Since launching in 2019, we have established ourselves as the go-to point of contact to engage with the broadest UK network of interdisciplinary, cross-sector digital TIPS experts.
The second phase of SPRITE+ ('SPRITE+2') will continue to build our membership, whilst expanding the breadth and depth of our innovation, and deepen our impact through proactive engagement.
SPRITE+2 will have the following objectives:
1. Expand our TIPS community, harnessing the expertise and collaborative potential of the national and international TIPS communities
2. Identify and prioritise future TIPS research challenges
3. Explore and develop priority research areas to enhance our collective understanding of future global TIPS challenges
4. Stimulate innovative research through sandpits, industry led calls, and horizon scanning
5. Deepen engagement with TIPS research end users across sectors to accelerate knowledge Exchange
6. Understand, inform, and influence policy making and practice at regional, national and international level
These will be delivered through four work packages and two cross cutting activities. All work packages will be led by the PI (Elliot) to ensure that connections are made and synergies exploited. Each sub-work package will be led by a member of the Management Team and supported by our Expert Fellows and Project Partners.
WP1 Develop the Network
We will deliver a set of activities designed to expand, broaden, and engage the network, from expert meetings and workshops to student bootcamps and international conferences.
WP2 Engage stakeholders to enhance knowledge exchange and deliver impact.
We will be greatly enhancing our purposive engagement activity in SPRITE+2. This activity will include a new business intelligence function and PP engagement grants, designed to enhance mutual understanding between researchers and stakeholders.
WP3 Identify, prioritise, and explore future TIPS challenges
We will select and then investigate priority areas of future TIPS. Two areas are pre-scoped based on the work we have done so far in SPRITE+ (TIPS in digital cities; trustworthy digital identities) with a further two be identified during the lead up to SPRITE+2.
WP4 Drive innovation in research
This WP concerns the initiation and production of high-quality impactful research. Through horizon scanning, sandpits and industry-led calls, we will steer ideas through an innovation pipeline ensuring SPRITE+2 is future focused.
Cross cutting activities
The first cross-cutting activity will accelerate the translation of TIPS research into policy and practice for public and private sector end uses. The second focuses on mechanisms to facilitate communication within our community.
The experiences of SPRITE+ and the other DE Network+s demonstrate that it takes years of consistent and considerable effort for a new network to grow membership and develop productive relationships with stakeholders. In SPRITE+2 grant we would hit the ground running and maximise the impact of four additional years of funding. A successful track record, a well-established team, and a raft of ambitious new plans provide a solid foundation for strong delivery in 2023-27.
Organisations
- University of Manchester (Lead Research Organisation)
- GREATER MANCHESTER COMBINED AUTHORITY (Collaboration, Project Partner)
- University College London (Collaboration)
- Alan Turing Institute (Collaboration)
- ARM Limited (Project Partner)
- Petras (Project Partner)
- Improbable Worlds Ltd (Project Partner)
- Government Office for Science (Project Partner)
- BT plc (Project Partner)
- Bruntwood Limited (Project Partner)
- Electronics and Telecomm Res Inst ETRI (Project Partner)
- Cybsafe Limited (Project Partner)
- Wilton Park (Project Partner)
- The Alan Turing Institute (Project Partner)
- N8 Policing Research Partnership (Project Partner)
- University of New South Wales (Project Partner)
- Hanyang University (Project Partner)
- Austrian Institute of Technology (Project Partner)
- NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Org) (Project Partner)
- Yoti Ltd (Project Partner)
- Inogesis (Project Partner)
- Wavestone Advisors UK Limited (Project Partner)
- Nasdaq (Project Partner)
- Open Data Institute (Project Partner)
- University of Montreal (Project Partner)
- Rebellion Defence Ltd (Project Partner)
Publications
Barrett E
(2025)
The Future of CyberCrime
Elliot M
(2024)
Dictionary of Privacy, Data Protection and Information Security
| Description | Future of Cyber Crime |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| URL | https://www.ucl.ac.uk/future-crime/sites/future_crime/files/future_of_cybercrime_report.pdf |
| Description | OFCOM ~ Protecting people from illegal harms online |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Description | Future of cybercrime |
| Organisation | University College London |
| Department | Department of Security and Crime Science |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Planned and held a joint workshop with UCL Dawes Centre for Future Crime on "The Future of Cyber Crime" to complement and challenge a government-organised workshop on the same topic. We took an equal share in facilitating the workshop, designing and running a Delphi study afterwards, and analysing and writing up the results, and communicating the outcomes. |
| Collaborator Contribution | As above. Work has been shared equally. |
| Impact | Report from the workshop and Delphi study. Participants were drawn from across disciplines including social science (incl criminology), behavioural science (incl psychology), computer science, engineering, mathematics. |
| Start Year | 2023 |
| Description | Tips in Digitial Cities |
| Organisation | Greater Manchester Combined Authority |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | SPRITE+ has partnered with the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) with a goal to create a set of standards and/or a charter for trustworthy connected places. Greater Manchester is an ambitious digital city region, well-advanced in planning and implementing the digital infrastructure and policies that will eventually underpin transport, healthcare, education, citizen welfare and well-being, policing, and security. GM offers a unique opportunity to identify, study and help deal with the TIPS challenges of becoming an innovative, responsible, inclusive, digital city region. This project will explore the TIPS issues holistically by leveraging the combined expertise and convening power of the SPRITE+ network, the GMCA, the GM Cyber Advisory Group (50+ organisations from public, private and third sectors), and the GM Responsible Tech Collective (a bridge to community groups). The project also represents an opportunity for the GM ecosystem to showcase its pre-eminence as an enlightened digital city region and to become a beacon for good practice. As part of this project we are recruiting a Research Associate/Fellow who will work jointly across SPRITE+, the GMCA and other stakeholders working to develop standards and/or a charter that will form the basis of future works. |
| Collaborator Contribution | In-kind support of the researcher, hosting of workshops, access to stakeholders. |
| Impact | One scoping workshop and associated information. |
| Start Year | 2024 |
| Description | Trustworthy Digital Identity |
| Organisation | Alan Turing Institute |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Held a workshop to scope the project. This fed into the position description for researcher who will work on the project. SPRITE+ is cofunding the researcher. |
| Collaborator Contribution | ATI attended the workshop and helped to scope the workshop. ATI is cofunding the researcher. |
| Impact | Position description for the researcher to be employed on the project. Scoping document. |
| Start Year | 2024 |
| Description | 2024 AIM Day |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | The event, which focused on networking between academia and industry, aimed to facilitate conversations which could result in a secondment or internship placement. SPRITE+ funding of up to £10,000 per secondment was available to participants. This was facilitated through: 3-minute elevator pitches by SPRITE+ Expert Fellows and academic Members, introducing their expertise, research focus, and proposed secondment topics. 3-minute elevator pitches by public sector, industrial partners and start-ups outlining their key technologies, innovations, research challenges, and secondment opportunities for collaborative research for an academic. Long coffee breaks enabling you to meet new contacts and have sufficient time to engage and network and develop jointly proposals for a fully funded 4-week secondment. Four successful secondment projects were funded. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | 2024 Expert Fellows Meeting |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | A two day, in-person, meeting of the SPRITE+ Expert Fellows, including participants from academia, industry, SMEs, regional and national government and civil society. Designed to provide networking opportunities, and for presentations and discussions about progress of the SPRITE+ network. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://spritehub.org/2024/02/12/sprite-expert-fellows-meeting-2024/ |
| Description | 2024 Showcase |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | SPRITE+ hosted a virtual showcase event to provide an opportunity for the SPRITE+ funded Sandpit teams to share findings from their research with the digital TIPS community. The event featured presentations from: Digital Product Passports: Unintended Consequences for Human Digital Identity by Dr Richard Jones, University of Edinburgh, Building a minimal viable digital identity from digital footprints by Dr Heather Shaw, University of Lancaster, Smoothing the Digital Identity Onboarding Process by Dr Tasos Spiliotopoulos, University of Birmingham, and Prof Rob Dover, Hull University, Trust, Rights and Identity in the Metaverse by Prof Jill Marshall, Royal Holloway, Digital Identify and Life-Course Study by Dr Yang Lu, York's St John University, and Robin Renwick, Trilateral research, and Trustworthy Digital Identity: What evidence exists about the nature of the relationship between digital and non-digital identities? by Dr Tasos Spiliotopoulos, University of Birmingham, and Prof Rob Dover, Hull University. The showcase was attended by close to 100 individuals throughout the day, including academic researchers and professional practitioners from industry, government, law enforcement and civil society organisations. This event provided a platform for academic and non-academic communities to discuss research findings, follow on activities and impact generation. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://spritehub.org/2024/08/28/sprite-showcase-2024/ |
| Description | Agenda setting workshop for UK interdisciplinary research in digital identity |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | This interactive, agenda setting workshop, will be the first in a series of events hosted by the newly launched project. The event will review the findings from a recently completed Rapid Evidence Review (RER) focused on trustworthy digital identity. Attendees will have an opportunity to provide commentary on the RER and contribute to shaping the project's research priorities. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.turing.ac.uk/events/agenda-setting-workshop-uk-interdisciplinary-research-digital-identi... |
| Description | Design Jam ~ Cheqd |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | 20 people participated in a workshop run by Cheqd to help inform their SPRITE+ funded hackathon. Sprite+ memebrs arrended and contributed to the two outputs created. These were: 1. In Draft and then in a V1 The guidelines: 'Authenticity, Authorisation and Authority - A relationship guide for AI Agents and their creators'. This would be in the format of a 2-page document which might be presented as a series of cards, or an infographic for easy consumption by humans (and potentially as a series of machine-readable rules for the AI Agents). 2. An experience report: Socio-technical design as a co-creative process. This would be based on the method or process that we have laid out in the diagram and will include feedback from the short survey, analysing what worked, and what we would do differently next time. It will take the views of participants in both the social and technical hack. Format: A 4-6 page document. Next steps are to launch the hackathon in earnest (which will finish in May 2025). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024,2025 |
| URL | https://dorahacks.io/hackathon/cheqd-verifiable-ai/detail |
| Description | Developing new responses to disinformation |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | New ways of thinking about - and working against - disinformation are urgently required, particularly as it threatens to disrupt democracies in 2024 elections and beyond, and because there are some serious gaps in existing research on and responses to it. Among these gaps is a lack of appreciation of how disinformation fluctuates as it travels across boundaries of time, platform, language, and culture, and of how shifts in definitions of disinformation influence the development of disinformation narratives themselves. This public panel of experts and decision-makers from academia, regulation, the media and industry discussed what else is currently missing from multi-stakeholder approaches to countering disinformation. Speakers highlighted what other new perspectives are needed, with a spotlight on a new research initiative designed to trace disinformation's 'cross-border' trajectories. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.chathamhouse.org/events/all/research-event/developing-new-responses-disinformation |
| Description | Dialogue with BT staff |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Meetings with BT staff to discuss collaborations and synergies. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023,2024 |
| Description | Dialogue with CDD services |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Meetings with CDD servives and GMCA to discuss collaborations and synergies |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024,2025 |
| Description | Dialogue with DSIT staff |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Meetings with DSIT staff to discuss collaborations. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024,2025 |
| Description | Dialogue with NCSC |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Meetings with NCSC staff to discuss becoming involved our activity |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Dialogue with Ofcom |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Meetings with Offcom staff to discuss synergies and collborations |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023,2024,2025 |
| Description | Dialogue with Optum/EMISS |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | A series of meeting with staff form Optum and Emiss regarding NHS cybersecurity |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024,2025 |
| Description | Dialogue with chatham house |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | Meetings with Chatham house staff to discuss collaboration on joint workshops |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024,2025 |
| Description | Digital Trust workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | This was a workshop in support of DSITs horizon scanning activity around AI. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2025 |
| Description | Evolution of Cyber Crime Threats to 2030 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | On 5 December 2023 the SPRITE+ team ran a workshop in conjunction with UCL's DawesCentre for Future Crime. This met a request fromthe UK Home Office and was tied to the HomeOffice's development of a cyber crime plan,which will shape investment in and developmentof UK Government capabilities, powers, andrelationships to respond to cybercrime threats asthey evolve over the next five years and beyond. This workshop lead to a Delphi study and associated report. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://www.ucl.ac.uk/future-crime/sites/future_crime/files/future_of_cybercrime_report.pdf |
| Description | GMCA CAG |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | SPRITE+ attended the Greater Manchester Cyber Advisory Group and presented on SPRITE+ activities in the area (GMCA Project) and other projects we are looking to spin up over the next 3 years. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024,2025 |
| Description | GMCA Scoping Workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | 19 people from the Greater Manchester area and people with subject matter knowledge in the Digital Cities space attended a scoping workshop on the 19th November. There were some provocation speakers and then the attendees worked through a KETSO activity to collect further thoughts and ideas for areas of focus. This then fed into the position description for the research position that will lead the further research. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Government Digital Sustainability Alliance Summit |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Attendance at an industry show |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://sustainableict.blog.gov.uk/welcome-to-the-government-digital-sustainability-alliance/ |
| Description | HH Keynote at PETS 2024 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Professor Hamed Haddaid presented a keynote at the 24th Privacy Enhancing Technologies Symposium. Abstract: Researchers and industry practitioners have been building privacy-preserving analytics, data collection, and telemetry techniques for over a decade. However, the rise of interests of the tech industry in consumer analytics and the appetite of governments in citizen surveillance have led to a dichotomy between data collection, privacy, and providing data agency to the individuals. In this walk I will present an overview of the latest techniques and tools for private analytics, their dual-use nature, and potential solutions in designing technologies that caters for, and serve the individual users of modern systems. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://petsymposium.org/2024/program.php |
| Description | Human-Centric Cybersecurity Partnership (HC2P) Summer program |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Three (3) SPRITE+ ECR''s attended the HC2P Summer School in Canada over the summer. HC2P leverages a transdisciplinary group of more than forty scholars from across Canada and thirty government, industry, and not-for-profit partners to generate research and mobilise knowledge that will help create a safer, more secure, more democratic, and more inclusive digital society. The program combines directed learning, practical experiences and hands on research that provides attendees with real world skills and contacts and the authorship of a published report on cybersecurity. Attendees spent two weeks in workshops, lectures and presentations learning from experts and then formulating their own cross-dicipilnary report to be published in 2025. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://spritehub.org/2024/03/26/call-for-applications-hc2p-summer-program-further-information/ |
| Description | Meetings with Thalys staff |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | meeting to build collbaoration |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024,2025 |
| Description | N8PRP Steering Group |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Three members of the SPRITE+ team attended the N8PRP Steering group meeting in November and January. In January SPRITE+ presented a project proposal on: AI and Policing: Trust, Identity, Pricacy and Security Innovation Forum. Members of the N8PRP were able to ask questions and further feedback was requested offline. SPRITE+ has collated this feedback and will be holding a short life working group with interested parties in April 2025 with the view to hold the Innovation Forum in the back end of 2025. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024,2025 |
| Description | OFCOM Consultation: Protecting people from illegal harms online. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | SPRITE+ held a number of workshops to work through the request from OFCOM regarding the Consultation: Protecting people from illegal harms online. Up to 10 people contributed to the final product submitted to OFCOM. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023,2024 |
| Description | S&T MG OEWG on AI planning session |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | This is a working group of the United Nation Environment programme on AI and the environment. The aim is to input into the UNEPs position on AI and the environment to be announced in April 2025. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2025 |
| Description | SASIG of the North |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Engaging with business leaders regionally about SPRITE+ activities. A number of participants requested further information and details on how to get involved and contribute to SPRITE+. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2025 |
| URL | https://www.thesasig.com/calendar/event/2025-03-11-north/ |
| Description | SPRITE+ BlueSky |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | In 2025 SPRITE+ moved from Twitter to BlueSky. This migration has helped bolster our academicc engagement. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2025 |
| URL | https://bsky.app/profile/spriteplus.bsky.social |
| Description | SPRITE+ Linkedin |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The SPRITE+ LinkedIn has grown over the course of 2024/2025 to help with engagement/outreach and promotion of activities to the wider commuity. Through LinkedIn we have had a number of enquiries about future works. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024,2025 |
| URL | https://uk.linkedin.com/company/spriteplus |
| Description | SPRITE+ Sandpit 2024 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | SPRITE+ hosted its third sandpit in June 2024 in hybrid format (three online sessions, and two in-person). The theme was 'Living in an Inauthentic World'. Applications to attend were open to academic and non-academic participants, and we attracted attendees from a range of disciplines and areas of professional practice. Additional stakeholders joined for the first online sessions to give talks about real world perspectives. Seven interdisciplinary research teams were formed, developing their project proposals. The funding panel included representation from Capgemini and Offcom ensuring industry and policy perspectives were taken into account. The panel provisionally awarded funding to four projects. Feedback was provided to the unsuccessful team which will enable them to reshape to project proposal for other funding opportunities. Participants' feedback indicates that the opportunities for networking and exchange of ideas were highly valued, and benefitted from the in-person component. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://spritehub.org/2024/01/10/upcoming-sprite-blended-sandpit/ |
| Description | SPRITE+ Website |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The SPRITE+ website was created at the start of the project and is used advertise the network and to disseminate information. The website hosts a range of resources of interest to the digital TIPS community: - The SPRITE+ blog and news features. - A library of carefully curated free online education and awareness resources - some of these materials are targeted at 'first timers' and offer a general introduction to relevant areas, and others provide a deep dive into more advanced topics for established stakeholders. - Information on centres for doctoral training relevant to digital TIPS. - A curated glossary of common terms across digital TIPS. From FinTech to cybersecurity, the list contains over 300 terms, definitions, and links to sources where you can learn more about each term. - A searchable library of top journals, conferences and papers for digital TIPS. - A searchable library of papers submitted by Members of the SPRITE+ community. - A searchable table of related organisations with significant interest and publications in the area of digital TIPS. - Career journey interviews with SPRITE+ Members, Expert Fellows and Project Partners (academics and professional practitioners) to provide inspiration for those looking to enter careers in digital TIPS. An up to date list of funding calls by SPRITE+ and external funders. - An up to date list of job opportunities and PhD studentships relevant to digital TIPS. The website is used to showcase the research activities and outcomes from the SPRITE+ funded project teams and offers opportunities for interested parties to collaborate and input into the direction of these groups. The SPRITE+ website allows people to sign-up as a member of the network. In addition, members can sign up to the SPRITE+ mailing list (JISCMail), which is used to send information about upcoming opportunities, events, funding calls and activities as well as the monthly SPRITE+ newsletter. As of February 2025, SPRITE+ has >1000 registered members and >700 JISCMail and Email Octopus. The SPRITE+ website also provides links to the BlueSky and LinkedIn pages which are used to share information of interest to the digital TIPS community |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023,2024,2025 |
| URL | https://spritehub.org/ |