Protecting Minority Ethnic Communities Online (PRIME)
Lead Research Organisation:
Heriot-Watt University
Department Name: Sch of Energy, Geosci, Infrast & Society
Abstract
The PRIME project will broaden understanding of online harm and how it can be mitigated through new systems, tools and processes by focusing on Minority Ethnic (ME) communities' experiences of digitalised services, particularly in the areas of housing, health and energy. We will draw on knowledge, methods and skills from social policy, cyber security and privacy, data mining and machine learning; human computer interaction, applied linguistics and educational technology. Working closely with REPHRAIN, we will engage with a wide range of individuals from ME communities, community organisations, public agencies and energy suppliers to identify and categorise the nature of the harms experienced, and assess the adequacy of existing systems and processes to counter them. We will translate this knowledge into the co-design and co-production of novel, effective and scalable social and technological harm-mitigating solutions through a Citizen-led Race Equity Living Lab (CREL). The outputs will include policy guidance in the fields of housing, health and energy as well as cross-cutting recommendations for improving online services more generally; educational resources for harm mitigation to enable individuals and organisations to more effectively protect themselves; as well as better privacy-enhancing technologies (PETs) that counter discriminatory processes in digitalised services. We will also produce benchmark datasets, tools and models to enable organisations to address ethnic inequalities in service provision and demonstrate more accountability to the public in terms of greater transparency and equitable service outcomes.
Organisations
- Heriot-Watt University (Lead Research Organisation)
- Department of Transport (Collaboration)
- Public Health Scotland (Project Partner)
- NHS Race & Health Observatory (Project Partner)
- Mental Health Foundation (Project Partner)
- Energy Systems Catapult (Project Partner)
- Scottish Government (Project Partner)
- Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (Project Partner)
- CaCHE (Project Partner)
- CEMVO Scotland (Project Partner)
- BRAP (Project Partner)
- Muslim Council of Britain (Project Partner)
- COSLA Strategic Migration Partnership (Project Partner)
| Description | Ofcom call for evidence |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| Impact | As a result of the submission to evidence, three of the contributors the submission were invited by Ofcom to attend a meeting with senior and other officials at Ofcom, and was then invited to present their research in Ofcom's internal seminar, attended by more than 140 civil servants and officials at Ofcom. |
| Description | EPSRC Impact Acceleration Account awarded to Yingfang Yuan for his collaboration with SMARTLEARN STUDIO Ltd |
| Amount | £6,893 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 04/2022 |
| End | 06/2022 |
| Description | Meeting with Head of vehicles stats team at DfT |
| Organisation | Department of Transport |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | I held a meeting with the vehicles stats team at DfT with a view to identify data sources that we could use to analyse whether ethnicity is impacting the adoption of electric vehicles. This has informed us to make a data access request to DVLA to access vehicle registry database. |
| Collaborator Contribution | We have made our data request and waiting to receive the outcome. |
| Impact | We have made our data request and waiting to receive the outcome. |
| Start Year | 2022 |
| Description | Blog post on limitations of data and AI and what this means for Minoritised Ethnic people |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | The PRIME project Research Associate, Dr. Aunam Quyoum, has written a blog post discusses how data systems are embedded in existing patterns of social and racial inequality, and can therefore reproduce discriminatory outcomes. The blog post has been cited and shared with more than 150 policymakers and civil servants in talks that Dr. Quyoum and Dr. Mark Wong conducted in 2022. This includes: 1) the Ofcom internal academic seminar Quyoum and Wong presented at, attended by more than 140 civil servants and officials of UK government's communications regulator, Ofcom, and; 2) the REPHRAIN policy salon session attended by the UK Government's National Crime Agency, Ofcom, and National Police Chiefs Council. The blog post, hosted by the University of Glasgow, outlines a new and more nuanced understanding on the limitations of data and AI and what this means for Minoritised Ethnic people. The piece concludes by critiquing and inviting the readers to question: how reliable is this system, what level of bias might it contain, how fair is this outcome and what inequalities could this perpetuate? The texts of the blog have also been reproduced in a roller banner and leaflets that are displayed in the University of Glasgow's Advanced Research Centre, and have been distributed through interactions and exchange with third sector/community organisations, professional practitioners, public members, and other academics within and outside of our institution. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://sway.office.com/GWCelQvl03sfGQBu?ref=Link |
| Description | Input to the NHS RHO Digital Data and Innovation Working Group |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Attend the NHS RHO Digital Data and Innovation Working Group and introduce the PRIME project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.nhsrho.org/ |
| Description | Interview for BBC Scotland on Launch of Protecting Minority Ethnic Communities Online project |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Interview was broadcast as part of daily news programme on BBC Scotland |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Invited talk at Algorithmic Dwelling Symposium |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | I (Mark Wong) was invited to be a speaker at the Algorithmic Dwelling Symposium at the University of York. I increased awareness and understanding of the PRIME project's aims, particularly in addressing inequalities and harms experienced by Minoritised Ethnic people in digital services, in housing, health, and energy. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Member of Digital Primary Care Evaluation and Research Network, NHS |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Engaged with others interested in the use of digital technology in primary care in the NHS |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Member of NHS Race and Health Observatory Digital, Data and Innovation Working Group |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Regular meetings with others with a professional interest in creating more equitable digital environments in the NHS |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.nhsrho.org/what-we-do/creating-fair-and-equitable-environments/ |
| Description | Ofcom internal seminar series |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | 140 Ofcom civil servants and policymakers attended a talk given by me (Dr. Mark Wong) and project Research Associate, Dr. Aunam Quyoum, both at University of Glasgow. The talk was part of the Ofcom internal/academic seminar series. Our presentation introduced how our multi-institutional PRIME project examines online harms and bias of AI and data systems on Minoritised Ethnic people in digital health, housing, and energy services in the UK. Wong and Quyoum discussed the impact and potential inequalities arising from digitisation (such as use of data and algorithmic decision-making). We also discussed the potential of co-design approach to develop fair and inclusive AI & digital tools with Minoritised Ethnic communities and multi-stakeholders to mitigate discriminatory bias. The talk sparked questions and lively discussions in the form of Q&A and messages in Teams. There were also individual follow-ups from Ofcom staff who were interested to learn more about the findings of the project and collaborate in the future. We were invited to present about our project findings in the future, and Ofcom indicated interests in collaborations and will reach out when academic expertise is required, such as by their online safety team, taking charge of the implementation of the Online Safety Bill, who were present at the talk. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | PRIME Website |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | A temporary website for the PRIME project has been available since the beginning of the project, however it did not collect any analytical data. More recently we have engaged a web designer to create a website as well as a logo and branding. The website will collect visitor numbers and we will be able to report on them next year. At the moment the website aims to be a useful resource for anyone who wants to learn more about the project, in particular for participants who take part in the project's online survey and interviews. Later on, resources that are developed through the project will be available there. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022,2023 |
| URL | https://www.primecommunities.online/ |
| Description | Poster Presentations for The National Robotarium |
| 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 | The PRIME team (Medhi and Yingfang) presented two posters introducing the PRIME project. Many people expressed interest in the posters, which clearly introduced how machine learning methods can be helpful for social science research, including a machine learning research framework. From our perspective, we were able to raise awareness among more people about what machine learning can do for those without deep knowledge of AI and ML. Some attendees engaged in detailed discussions with us, and through those discussions, we explained the motivations behind PRIME in detail and how different machine learning methods (such as text mining and graph neural networks) can be used to address various problems. Based on the feedback we received on-site, we learned that most people found our research question valuable and were intrigued by the use of machine learning in the PRIME project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Presentation at REPHRAIN Showcase 2023 (19 Jan 2023) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Presentation about the PRIME project to delegates from industry, academia, government bodies and regulators. The government and regulator delegates included representatives from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, the National Crime Agency, Ofcom, the National Cyber Security Centre, and the Home Office. The presentation and the subsequent Q&A session sparked a debate regarding the conceptualisation of online harms. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://www.rephrain.ac.uk/rephrain-showcase-january-2023/ |
| Description | Press release by Heriot Watt University on start of the Protecting Minority Ethnic Communities Online Project |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Announcement of the award; aim of the research; its scale, multidisciplinary nature, significance, academic, community organisation partners and other stakeholders |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Protecting Minority Ethnic Communities Online: Presentation to Tower Hamlets GP Care Group CIC |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Prof Ozkan gave a presentation to Tower Hamlets GP Care Group CIC on 21/11/2022. There were over 10 general practice managers attending the meeting. In my talk, I emphasized what PRIME project was aiming to do, which included advancing understanding the challenges they have been experiencing through increased digitalisation of services. This sparked discussions about how the PRIME project outputs can contribute to addressing these challenges and informing policy making. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | REPHRAIN policy salon invited talk |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | 15 civil servants and representatives of government/public sector organisation attended a talk given by me (Mark Wong) and our project Research Associate, Aunam Quyoum, both at University of Glasgow, about the project. The talk was part of a series of REPHRAIN's monthly hour-long "Policy Salons" held online, as part of a new initiative aimed at encouraging knowledge exchange and open discussions between policy makers, law enforcement agencies and REPHRAIN, the national centre of excellence on cybersecurity based at University of Bristol. In attendance of the talk were representatives from UK Government's National Crime Agency (social-techncial group, cybersecurity), Ofcom (research team on violence against women and girls), National Police Chief's Councils (Violence against women and girls taskforce), and REPHRAIN (deputy director). The talk was followed by a Q&A about the project's research and how it engages with Minoritised Ethnic people and community organisations in co-design of data and AI. Questions and discussions were also had around the role of trust in digital services and underlying systemic racism in such systems. Further information on co-design and engagement with marginalised communities were requested by civil servants/policy representatives in attendance. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Spotlight Podcast |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | I (Mark Wong) was interviewed for a podcast series, Spotlight, hosted by the University of Glasgow. I discussed the harms and bias in AI and data on Minoritised Ethnic people, with podcast host, Prof. Graeme Roy (Dean of External Engagement, College of Social Science, University of Glasgow). In the podcast, I also added new understanding to the importance of how we collect ethnicity data and information to inform public policy - and how the methods we use to collect and process information can themselves lead to biases in decision-making. The podcast is available on major podcast platforms, including Spotify, Apple Podcast, Google Podcast. The podcast series is widely listened to by Scottish policy makers, civil servants, and general public, with on average more than a hundred listeners per episode. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://open.spotify.com/episode/2pAXbvVrdl8wNUoo3QUtzN |
| Description | meeting with Data Communications Company |
| 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 | I attended a meeting with DCC to inform them of PRIME project objectives and research programme and discuss how we could have access to smart metering data to see if ethnicity has an impact on different digital energy services. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |