Business and Local Government Data Research Centre
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Essex
Department Name: Computer Sci and Electronic Engineering
Abstract
An ambition to be the world's most innovative economy is set out in the UK Government Industrial Strategy. Local authorities and businesses possess large amounts of data covering every aspect of their daily activities. While this resource is valuable, the opportunity for transformative change in business models in public and private sectors comes from adopting data science and artificial intelligence techniques and embedding them as an analytical layer in every stage of decision making. Transforming data to knowledge with the help of advanced analytics can provide local authorities and businesses additional information which can help them to design better policies and improve their business operations.
The Business and Local Government Data Research Centre (BLG DRC) aims to enable a step change in the way public sector organisations and businesses make use of and harness the power of their data through advanced analytics. As such, BLG DRC will coalesce a number of research strands in social sciences, data science and AI within University of Essex and will provide the synergetic scope required to make significant new breakthroughs in social sciences and methodological research. The primary stakeholders of BLG DRC will continue to be local authorities and businesses, but we will expand our remit of work and collaborations to the wider public sector as well as internationally.
BLG DRC's mission places stakeholders and users at its heart, and the research programme of work will be user-driven and involve an ethos of co-creation with external partners and stakeholders. The comprehensive integrated outreach programme which consists of training and knowledge exchange activities will ensure an ongoing dialogue with the users and stakeholders of the research and project partners including policy makers and that the project outputs will have lasting impact beyond the life of the Centre. In particular, focusing on the public sector and working with our regional partners, Essex County Council (ECC), Essex Police (EP), Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (EPUT) and others, BLG DRC will serve as a joined up, system-wide public sector AI and data science hub where the focus of the work will be on improving lives and generating efficiency in public services through embedding of novel data science techniques and AI. We have also partnered with businesses who wish to understand how we can foster and support economic growth, particularly for small and medium enterprises and start-ups. We aim to explore the barriers these businesses face and how data science and AI can help us understand the best means of overcoming these.
The overall programme of work is divided into two strands which are strongly interlinked: (i) developing new research and interdisciplinary capacity, and (ii) delivering and further expanding our integrated outreach programme. The programme has been designed to maximise the impact of both existing activity and also engage in new research that will have direct and significant impact at the regional and national level. Our users and stakeholders will continue to play a key role in shaping up the programme of work on the one hand benefitting from the research and integrated outreach programme while on the other directly feeding in challenges and problems with respect to socio-economic research and the development of new methods needed to address these problems so that the take-up of our work can be maximised. Building on our successful substantive socio-economic programme of research and methodological research stream, we aim to further develop and undertake new research in three core areas: (i) Support for Vulnerable People; (ii) Supporting Economic Growth; (iii) Methodologies and Techniques for Data Science and AI. The new phase of BLG DRC promises to be an exciting development that will not only advance knowledge but also benefit our community.
The Business and Local Government Data Research Centre (BLG DRC) aims to enable a step change in the way public sector organisations and businesses make use of and harness the power of their data through advanced analytics. As such, BLG DRC will coalesce a number of research strands in social sciences, data science and AI within University of Essex and will provide the synergetic scope required to make significant new breakthroughs in social sciences and methodological research. The primary stakeholders of BLG DRC will continue to be local authorities and businesses, but we will expand our remit of work and collaborations to the wider public sector as well as internationally.
BLG DRC's mission places stakeholders and users at its heart, and the research programme of work will be user-driven and involve an ethos of co-creation with external partners and stakeholders. The comprehensive integrated outreach programme which consists of training and knowledge exchange activities will ensure an ongoing dialogue with the users and stakeholders of the research and project partners including policy makers and that the project outputs will have lasting impact beyond the life of the Centre. In particular, focusing on the public sector and working with our regional partners, Essex County Council (ECC), Essex Police (EP), Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (EPUT) and others, BLG DRC will serve as a joined up, system-wide public sector AI and data science hub where the focus of the work will be on improving lives and generating efficiency in public services through embedding of novel data science techniques and AI. We have also partnered with businesses who wish to understand how we can foster and support economic growth, particularly for small and medium enterprises and start-ups. We aim to explore the barriers these businesses face and how data science and AI can help us understand the best means of overcoming these.
The overall programme of work is divided into two strands which are strongly interlinked: (i) developing new research and interdisciplinary capacity, and (ii) delivering and further expanding our integrated outreach programme. The programme has been designed to maximise the impact of both existing activity and also engage in new research that will have direct and significant impact at the regional and national level. Our users and stakeholders will continue to play a key role in shaping up the programme of work on the one hand benefitting from the research and integrated outreach programme while on the other directly feeding in challenges and problems with respect to socio-economic research and the development of new methods needed to address these problems so that the take-up of our work can be maximised. Building on our successful substantive socio-economic programme of research and methodological research stream, we aim to further develop and undertake new research in three core areas: (i) Support for Vulnerable People; (ii) Supporting Economic Growth; (iii) Methodologies and Techniques for Data Science and AI. The new phase of BLG DRC promises to be an exciting development that will not only advance knowledge but also benefit our community.
Planned Impact
Non-academic beneficiaries of the Business and Local Government Data Research Centre (BLG DRC) include a range of organisations and individuals, operating at different levels.
BLG DRC mission and focus place stakeholders and users at its heart, and the research programme of work will be user-driven and involve an ethos of co-creation with external partners and stakeholders. This ensures on the one hand that our research remains relevant and close to the problems as experienced by organisations, while on the other hand it maximises the potential for impact and take-up of our research.
Key beneficiaries of the Centre's work include:
1) Businesses will have access to new techniques which can improve their decision processes and training activities will build their capacity in data science and AI to improve their productivity and decision-making. Research on digital leadership and organisational transformation will be relevant and could have implications for organisational development strategies.
2) Business organisations such as the CBI and Institute of Directors will benefit through better understanding their constituents' needs and priorities and how data science and AI can be used to support business development.
3) Local authorities will benefit from AI-driven transformation of public service delivery that allows them to reduce the administrative burden and deliver services for the benefit of communities under decreasing budgets.
4) Local government officers, Councillors and the Local Government Association, County, Borough and unitary authorities in the UK are responsible for a number of services addressed. The focus on vulnerable people, health and social care and supporting economic growth are all relevant. We expect considerable impacts on practice in the provision of services.
5) Government department researchers and policy makers. The methodological developments and substantive research will provide a model of relevance for all areas of the UK. The likely impact is significant as new ways of utilising data science and AI are developed.
6) Government executive agencies, non-departmental public bodies, parliamentary select committees and quangos. Many will have interests in data science and AI, and we expect agencies such as e.g. DCMS, HMRC, DFID, Cabinet Office, Dstl, and DWP to be beneficiaries of the research.
7) The international policy community. Methodological and substantive research will be relevant to other countries and developments around the use of AI and Data Science in the public sector and business contexts. We envisage working with the EU Joint Research Centre on AI aspects of smart specialisation and anticipate considerable international impact.
8) NGOs, think tanks, charities and independent research organisations will benefit including for example the New Economics Foundation, the Institute for Public Policy Research, Age UK, the Transport Research Laboratory, the Child Poverty Action Group, and Demos.
9) The general public will benefit through more informed policy-making and an awareness of the benefits of data science and AI can provide including reduction in administrative burden and more targeted provision of public services. Benefits will accrue through the provision of better quality, more effective and targeted services and through new public or firm level policies for the benefit of community. Fair, transparent, and ethical use of AI for the benefit of society will also build trust and public confidence. We expect findings to be reported in news media and to stimulate public debate.
10) As the BLG DRC positively influences policy across a range of areas at both regional and national levels, society as a whole will benefit through improved quality of life via improved public health and better social support for vulnerable people, economic growth, and technological advances.
BLG DRC mission and focus place stakeholders and users at its heart, and the research programme of work will be user-driven and involve an ethos of co-creation with external partners and stakeholders. This ensures on the one hand that our research remains relevant and close to the problems as experienced by organisations, while on the other hand it maximises the potential for impact and take-up of our research.
Key beneficiaries of the Centre's work include:
1) Businesses will have access to new techniques which can improve their decision processes and training activities will build their capacity in data science and AI to improve their productivity and decision-making. Research on digital leadership and organisational transformation will be relevant and could have implications for organisational development strategies.
2) Business organisations such as the CBI and Institute of Directors will benefit through better understanding their constituents' needs and priorities and how data science and AI can be used to support business development.
3) Local authorities will benefit from AI-driven transformation of public service delivery that allows them to reduce the administrative burden and deliver services for the benefit of communities under decreasing budgets.
4) Local government officers, Councillors and the Local Government Association, County, Borough and unitary authorities in the UK are responsible for a number of services addressed. The focus on vulnerable people, health and social care and supporting economic growth are all relevant. We expect considerable impacts on practice in the provision of services.
5) Government department researchers and policy makers. The methodological developments and substantive research will provide a model of relevance for all areas of the UK. The likely impact is significant as new ways of utilising data science and AI are developed.
6) Government executive agencies, non-departmental public bodies, parliamentary select committees and quangos. Many will have interests in data science and AI, and we expect agencies such as e.g. DCMS, HMRC, DFID, Cabinet Office, Dstl, and DWP to be beneficiaries of the research.
7) The international policy community. Methodological and substantive research will be relevant to other countries and developments around the use of AI and Data Science in the public sector and business contexts. We envisage working with the EU Joint Research Centre on AI aspects of smart specialisation and anticipate considerable international impact.
8) NGOs, think tanks, charities and independent research organisations will benefit including for example the New Economics Foundation, the Institute for Public Policy Research, Age UK, the Transport Research Laboratory, the Child Poverty Action Group, and Demos.
9) The general public will benefit through more informed policy-making and an awareness of the benefits of data science and AI can provide including reduction in administrative burden and more targeted provision of public services. Benefits will accrue through the provision of better quality, more effective and targeted services and through new public or firm level policies for the benefit of community. Fair, transparent, and ethical use of AI for the benefit of society will also build trust and public confidence. We expect findings to be reported in news media and to stimulate public debate.
10) As the BLG DRC positively influences policy across a range of areas at both regional and national levels, society as a whole will benefit through improved quality of life via improved public health and better social support for vulnerable people, economic growth, and technological advances.
Organisations
- University of Essex (Lead Research Organisation)
- King George's Medical University (Collaboration)
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Collaboration)
- Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta (Collaboration)
- George Mason University (Collaboration)
- ESSEX COUNTY COUNCIL (Collaboration)
- Colchester Borough Council (Collaboration)
- Essex Police (Collaboration)
- Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) (Collaboration)
Publications
Khan Z
(2019)
Ensemble of optimal trees, random forest and random projection ensemble classification
in Advances in Data Analysis and Classification
Kristian Skrede Gleditsch
(2022)
One without the Other? Prediction and Policy in International Studies
in One without the Other? Prediction and Policy in International Studies
Kulinskaya E
(2021)
Exploring consequences of simulation design for apparent performance of methods of meta-analysis.
in Statistical methods in medical research
Machlanski D
(2023)
Hyperparameter Tuning and Model Evaluation in Causal Effect Estimation
Mastrobuoni G
(2020)
Partners in Crime: Evidence from Recidivating Inmates
in Italian Economic Journal
Nara S
(2023)
Decoding numeracy and literacy in the human brain: insights from MEG and MVPA
in Scientific Reports
Nyiam P
(2021)
A Comparison of Benson's Outer Approximation Algorithm with an Extended Version of Multiobjective Simplex Algorithm
in Advances in Operations Research
Nyiam P
(2021)
On the simplex, interior-point and objective space approaches to multiobjective linear programming
in Journal of Algorithms & Computational Technology
Quiroz Flores A
(2022)
Survival Analysis - A New Guide for Social Scientists
Quiroz Flores A
(2021)
Variation in the timing of Covid-19 communication across universities in the UK.
in PloS one
Quiroz Flores A
(2021)
Private provision of public goods and political survival: Rail transport in four European democracies in the 20th century
in Research in Transportation Economics
Quteineh H
(2020)
Textual Data Augmentation for Efficient Active Learning on Tiny Datasets
Rathee D
(2021)
A magnetoencephalography dataset for motor and cognitive imagery-based brain-computer interface.
in Scientific data
Salhi A
(2023)
Application of the Plant Propagation Algorithm and NSGA-II to Multiple Objective Linear Programming
in Science Publishing Group
Serafinelli M
(2022)
Creativity over time and space A historical analysis of European cities
in Journal of Economic Growth
Singh V
(2022)
Event Classification and Intensity Discrimination for Forest Fire Inference With IoT
in IEEE Sensors Journal
Smith E
(2020)
High and low activity spells in housing markets
in Review of Economic Dynamics
Smith E
(2020)
Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Economics and Finance
Venugopal R
(2022)
Privacy preserving Generative Adversarial Networks to model Electronic Health Records.
in Neural networks : the official journal of the International Neural Network Society
Wang W
(2020)
Altering Gaussian process to Student- t process for maximum distribution construction
in International Journal of Systems Science
| Description | The Business and Local Government Data Research Centre (BLG DRC) brings together academic expertise from social sciences, business, social and healthcare and computer science to help public sector organisations and businesses use data more effectively, enable better decision making, and support organisations to solve real problems. The research within the Centre comprises work organised in three streams: (i) Supporting Local Economic Growth; (ii) Supporting Vulnerable People; (iii) Methodologies for data science and artificial intelligence. Each research stream involves a number of academic and research staff working on a range of projects. Our work builds on the previous research and findings under the Centre and our fundamental and applied research has been contributed in a number of areas and some examples are given below: - Our work with the local government organisations such Colchester Borough Council shed light on the reported worsening of health indicators in the areas of Colchester and Tendring while other work with Small and Medium Enterprises has helped deliver tangible insights for instance on the factors that are important to employees for staying on a role in an organisation. - Our methodological research has been developing novel artificial intelligence based methods to explore and identify patterns in time series including for Non-stationary Multivariate Time Series Forecasting. - Our training programme has delivered training to external stakeholders such as public sector organisations and businesses and has increased their knowledge and skills in a range of topics in data science and analytics techniques. |
| Exploitation Route | There are multiple areas that our findings can be taken forward by others. - The techniques developed under the methodological stream have applicability in a range of domains. For instance, the natural language processing techniques developed have wider applicability in analyzing customer feedback or other forms of unstructured data emanating from interactions with customers (e-commerce websites, etc). - Our advanced statistical methods and machine learning methods have applications in the health domain for instance, in analysing clinical trials data or patient related data to uncover hidden patterns. |
| Sectors | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Financial Services, and Management Consultancy,Healthcare |
| Description | The fundamental and applied research that the Centre has been undertaking has contributed to non-academic impact. One example of our work and findings being used in collaboration with external stakeholders is though the Data Analytics Innovation Vouchers (DAIVs). DAIVs enable stakeholders, businesses and public sector organisations, to access the Centre's academic expertise in analytics, data science and socio-economic expertise. For instance, our work with Colchester Borough Council in understanding health indicators and their worsening in the region is feeding into discussions and considerations for policy and action to improve outcomes for citizens in the region. Our work with the Open Road charity has demonstrated the value of supported provided to the community through the SOS Bus in Colchester. We have worked with SMEs such as Thymometrics to develop novel approaches to measuring satisfaction of employees at work and factors that affect retention which the company is in the process of operationalising. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2000 |
| Sector | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Financial Services, and Management Consultancy,Healthcare |
| Impact Types | Societal,Policy & public services |
| Description | "Introduction to Data Science for the Public Sector" Course for the Open Innovation Team |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Description | National Data Strategy |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| URL | https://drive.google.com/file/d/131zeKypENCt2X58ZPBiBcnMhHlvg4Ysd |
| Description | Supporting Local Authorities with preparation for Census 2021 |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | To DO |
| URL | https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VcMTAsMOvUFtexWP2lbIqRrFpki0Huc-nUDALkIZV0Y/edit# |
| Description | PhD Scholarship |
| Amount | £150,599 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | DRJ5020, DRJ5030 |
| Organisation | Rolls-Royce Motor Cars |
| Sector | Private |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 10/2021 |
| End | 10/2024 |
| Title | COVID-19 Press Briefings Corpus |
| Description | The Coronavirus (COVID-19) Press Briefings Corpus is a work in progress to collect and present in a machine readable text dataset of the daily briefings from around the world by government authorities. During the peak of the pandemic, most countries around the world informed their citizens of the status of the pandemic (usually involving an update on the number of infection cases, number of deaths) and other policy-oriented decisions about dealing with the health crisis, such as advice about what to do to reduce the spread of the epidemic. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2020 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | Better understanding of risk communication during the pandemic The corpus is compiled to allow for further automated political discourse analysis (classification) & sentiment analysis. |
| URL | https://zenodo.org/record/3872417#.YBgxKHf7SpM |
| Title | Replication Data for: Survival Analysis. A New Guide for Social Scientists |
| Description | These replication files include data and R estimation code for: "Survival Analysis. A New Guide for Social Scientists", by Alejandro Quiroz Flores (2022). |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | Survival analysis; Econometrics; Statistics; Public Health; Covid 19; Higher Education. |
| Title | Replication Data for: Variation in the timing of Covid-19 communication across universities in the UK |
| Description | These replication files include data and Stata estimation code for: "Variation in the timing of Covid-19 communication across universities in the UK" by Alejandro Quiroz Flores, Farhana Liza, Husam Quteineh, Barbara Czarnecka. (2021-01-21) |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | Natural disasters; Risk communication; Crisis informatics; Social media; Survival analysis; Universities; United Kingdom; COVID-19; Higher education |
| URL | https://dataverse.harvard.edu/dataset.xhtml?persistentId=doi:10.7910/DVN/2KR6YF |
| Description | A* Research Agency, visit by Prof Fasli |
| Organisation | Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) |
| Country | Singapore |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Prof Fasli, PI and Director of the BLG DRC, visited A* Research Agency in March 2019. Prof Fasli had visited briefly before and at the time a number of areas for collaboration were identified. Prof Fasli delivered a talk and also held meetings with a number of Researchers as well as staff that are working on research and development projects with industry. A brief visit also followed in August 2019 by Prof Fasli. |
| Collaborator Contribution | A number of researchers working in applications of data science techniques and analytics to public policy and socio-economic problems and challenges met with Prof Fasli and discussed their work and opportunities for collaboration or learning from each other's work or conducting parallel studies. |
| Impact | This partnership is multi-disciplinary involving social scientists and computer scientists and practitioners. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Colchester Borough Council |
| Organisation | Colchester Borough Council |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Funded through the Data Analytics Innovation Voucher, the centre delivered a data analytics research project designed to analyse multiple sources of data to uncover the driving factors behind the health and social decline of north east Essex (specifically the Colchester area). The Centre produced an in depth report for the council which will be used to inform commissioning decisions and interventions aimed to reduce the decline of health for its community. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Colchester Borough Council led the project on behalf of the North East Essex Health and Wellbeing Alliance. Following a consultation with the client in 2019, the council worked collaboratively with the centre to define the scope fo the research project and the deliverables. The council also provided data which formed part of the data analytics research project. |
| Impact | An in-depth report that will be used by the North East Essex Health and Wellbeing Alliance to address declining health trends. The results of the report will be used to make commissioning decisions and inform further interventions at a regional level. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Dr Akhilnanda Chaursia |
| Organisation | King George's Medical University |
| Country | India |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | We have signed a data sharing agreement and KGMU has shared a wide range of panoramic radiographs for research purposes only. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Shared Data. |
| Impact | Future publications and research projects. |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | Essex County Council - Essex Centre for Data Analytics (ECDA) |
| Organisation | Essex County Council |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Researchers in the BLG DRC will be working together with analysts in Essex County Council as part of a high level collaboration between Essex County Council, Essex Police and the University of Essex. Researchers will be contributing their socio-economic and data science expertise in formulating projects to tackle challenging problems in the region and subsequently working with analysts in a collaborative way to undertake these projects. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Essex County Council analysts and professionals including policy makers, have domain knowledge and expertise and access to data for the county's citizens. They can help the Researchers in the BLG DRC to interpret findings coming out of analysis and also identify ways that these findings can feed into policy changes or support the ECC's decision making. |
| Impact | The collaboration is multi-disciplinary and involves, social scientists, social care experts, computer scientists and data analysts. We have not got results out of any project yet, hence there are currently on outputs/outcomes to report. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Essex Police - Essex Centre for Data Analytics (ECDA) |
| Organisation | Essex Police |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Researchers in the BLG DRC will be working together with analysts in Essex Police as part of a high level collaboration between Essex County Council, Essex Police and the University of Essex. Researchers will be contributing their socio-economic and data science expertise in formulating projects to tackle challenging problems in the region and subsequently working with analysts in a collaborative way to undertake these projects. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Essex Police analysts and professionals have domain knowledge and expertise and access to data for the county's citizens. They can help the Researchers in the BLG DRC to interpret findings coming out of analysis and also identify ways that these findings can feed into policy changes or support the EP's decision making. |
| Impact | The collaboration is multi-disciplinary and involves, social scientists, social care experts, computer scientists and data analysts. We have not got results out of any project yet, hence there are currently on outputs/outcomes to report. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | George Mason University DataLab Collaboration |
| Organisation | George Mason University |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The BLG DRC and the DataLab based at George Mason University (Washington DC) held a joint workshop to explore the challenges and opportunities of working with the public sector and businesses in relation to data science and analytics and policy making. |
| Collaborator Contribution | A research workshop was held at the DataLab based at George Mason University (Washington DC) and presentations by researchers on both sides were delivered on key work undertaken. The workshop involved researchers coming from social sciences, policy support, computer science and social care. Interactive discussion sessions followed and opportunities for further work were discussed. |
| Impact | This collaboration has led to the BLG DRC being invited by George Mason University and MetroLab to be an Associate Partner in an NSF Network bid, but the outcome of this is not known yet. This is a multi-disciplinary collaboration involving social scientists, policy support researchers, computer scientists and social care researchers. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | UNC Visit |
| Organisation | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | During this visit I presented my research and developed research links. |
| Collaborator Contribution | They hosted my visit by providing an office and administrative support. |
| Impact | This is still a work in progress. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Visiting Scholar |
| Organisation | Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | During this visit I presented my research and developed research links which are beginning to yield joint research. |
| Collaborator Contribution | They hosted my visit by providing an office and administrative support. |
| Impact | This is still a work in progress. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | "Market concentration, supply, quality and prices paid by Local Authorities in the English care home market" presented at the International Health Economics Association (iHEA) World Congress special, organised session on "Long-Term Care Financing and Markets". |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | In many countries there has been an increased reliance on market mechanisms in the governance of LTC. I discussed the impact of conditions favouring high market concentration on supply, price and quality in the residential and nursing home markets. Focusing on the English case, I discussed the role of large for-profit corporate providers in determining the underlying competitive environment in which operate multiple buyers - the public local commissioners (that negotiate contracts with providers on behalf of residents whom they fund following a means test of their income and wealth), and (a large number of) self-funded individuals who have been excluded by the means test. Results enable to extract relevant policy messages on factors that may promote or inhibit an adequate supply of care home places at affordable costs and sufficient quality. The presentation followed a series of questions and a round table where internationally-relevant LTC issues were discussed. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.healtheconomics.org/page/2019Program |
| Description | "Want to study Data Science in the UK? Here are 3 things to know" |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | 60 people attended a session which sparked questions and discussions - an increase in interest was reported. Interviewed by journalist and presented my views. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/study-abroad/story/data-science-study-abroad-in-uk-strateg... |
| Description | AI Summit London |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Between 51-100 people attended the session: "The Bright Future of AI in the Public Sector". This was organized at the AI Summit, London. We discussed the role and future of AI in government, both at the local and national levels. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Applied Health Research workshop on "Social Care - Strengths and Opportunities" |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | 60 people attended a session which sparked questions and discussions - an increase in interest was reported. The purpose of this workshop was to identify opportunities for bringing people together to share their research activity on social care and to collaborate on large, interdisciplinary research applications. My presentation sparked questions and discussions on the policy implication of presented finding. A great interest was reported in the analysis of the care home market, in particular on the identification of the local, contextual, market factors which help or hinder Local Authority activity. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Attendance at PEN and NHS England and Improvement Workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | On 25th April 2022 the Centre attended the Using Insight for Improvement Virtual Workshops - Children & Young People. About this event Using Insight for Improvement Virtual Workshops - Children & Young People image Working in conjunction with NHS England and Improvement, the Patient Experience Network (PEN) delivered an interactive workshop focused on using insight for improvement. The session was topic-led, and be focused on children and young people. Over the half day session, delegates heard from several previous PENNA Winners and Finalists who have been driving improvement in children and young peoples healthcare. Discussions focused on data collection and research methods as well as the next phase in co-production and design. News from the Insight & Feedback Team as well as breakout room networks allowed the over 100 delegates to discuss key themes arising from the presentations. Each event was focused on sharing what is working well, learning from each other and having the opportunity to discuss your own challenges with like-minded professionals. Organisations, presenters and projects at this Virtual Workshop: - Richard Owen, Deputy Director - Children and Young People's Transformation, Nursing Directorate, NHS England & Improvement - Dr Chris Evans, Little Journey Ltd, Little Journey: A Children's Healthcare Procedure Preparation and Support Tool - Mat Southall, Cheshire East Integrated Care, Child Health Hubs - Carla Johnson, Birmingham Women's and Children's Hospital, Dora: Video Interpreting Device - Lisa Smith, University Hospitals Bristol & Weston NHS FT, Christmas Isn't Cancelled & Virtual Youth Involvement Group - Kirsty Lothian, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS FT, ACTIVE (The Children and Young People's Board) Engagement extended beyond the date of the event via social media, widening awareness of our services and the best practice we have gained through our partnership working with the NHS and third sector. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | BEST Growth Hub Big Business Briefing Presentation |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | On 29th July 2021 the Centre presented at a virtual event aimed at SMEs in the east of England. Over 50 organisations across the public and private sector attended the event to hear about the services and support provided by the Centre and its partners. The meeting included a sustainability panel, with experts and businesses who understand today more than ever, business people are considering the impact their business has on both planet and society. The launch of the BEST Growth Roadshow was announced and attendees had an opportunity to ask questions, connect with experts in the field for Peer Networks, scale-up, business adaptation, business grants on the horizon and free business support. The Centre presented on the matter of data and its importance for SME. The presentation was well received and strengthened the partnership working with BEST Growth Hub. This partnership has already led to SME referrals as well as wider research projects with local government to look at economic growth. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | BEST Growth Hub Referral: Norman Knights Ltd |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | BEST Growth Hub referral. Sent follow up email on 11.11.19 introducing the Centre and the DAIVs. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | BEST Growth Hub Regional Show 2020 |
| 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 | On 27th February 2020, the Centre participated in the BEST Growth Hub Regional Show 2020. Back for a fourth year and building on last year's success, the BEST Growth Hub Show was back at Chelmsford's prestigious Hylands House on February 27th 2020. Marketed as Essex's ONLY one-stop-shop business show! Hundreds of local businesses, charities and public sector bodies joined the event which included networking information stands and workshops. Over 50 exhibitors were present on the day to share expertise and knowledge. The Centre held an information stand and was able to share advise and promote data analytics support provided by the team as well as other opportunities to engage such as upcoming workshops and webinars. The event enabled the Centre to build on its strong working relationships with BEST Growth Hub and councils as part of the business support referral pathway for data analytics. Together with strategic partners we support economic growth. Wider engagement continued via social media throughout the event. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Barcelona Innovation Day, London 2020, Session: Shared Prosperity in the Era of AI |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Prof Fasli was one of the invited speakers in the "Shared Prosperity in the Era of AI" session as part of the "Barcelona Innovation Day" which was an online summit organised by SciTech DiploHubon 26th November 2020. Prof Fasli talked about Artificial Intelligence technologies and their potential to deliver social good and be deployed in a range of applications. The talk also covered common pitfalls and misunderstandings of AI. The presentations by the speakers was followed by a discussion and Q&A with the audience. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | http://www.scitechdiplohub.org/bid-london-2020/ |
| Description | Basildon & Brentwood CCG on behalf of the Mid & South Essex Health and Care Partnership - Impact of Covid-19 on Bowel Cancer rates |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The aim of the research project is to understand the impact of Covid-19 for patients presenting to their GP with suspected bowel cancer symptoms. Whether due to the delay in presentation or diagnosis, cancers are being diagnosed at a more advanced stage of malignancy. The Data Analytics Innovation Voucher (DAIV) application has been approved and the formal offer letter has been sent to the client and a Senior Research Officer has been assigned to work on the DAIV. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Bounce back from COVID-19: Create your data strategy webinar |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | On 5th August 2020 the Centre delivered a webinar as part of its 'bounce back from COVID-19' webinar series. The session focused on how to create a data strategy. Creating a data strategy is the foundation of your success. In the digital era, data has never been more important. Some of the most successful organisations today use data in their everyday operations to improve their services and better understand their customers. Businesses, charities and those working in the public sector, joined us to hear from leading experts in the field of data analytics. They learnt how theirorganisation can use data to improve services, secure future funding, measure impact, predict future trends and more. The session was perfect for people that 'don't do data' or are new in their data journey. Attendees reported getting a lot of great ideas on how to turn information into insight by creating their own data strategy through a series of simple steps. This is part of a series designed to help organisations bounce back from COVID-19. Become more resilient and take advantage of the benefits data can bring. We also gave attendees the opportunity to register interest for follow up grant-funded data analytics support from the ESRC Business and Local Government Data Research Centre. 86 organisations from across the world registered for the webinar these included West Midlands Police, councils, a range of charities, other research institutions as well as businesses. The webinar was delivered by Dr Kakia Chatsiou, Senior Research Officer at the Centre. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Bounce back from COVID-19: Evaluating in times of social distancing webinar |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | On 16th September 2020 the Centre delivered a webinar on evaluating in times of social distancing as part of the bounce back from COVID-19 webinar series. The webinar was delivered by Dr Kakia Chatsiou. As COVID-19 spreads globally, a massive health, humanitarian and development crisis is challenging evaluators, programme managers and stakeholders to adapt the way the impact of their programmes and interventions are evaluated. In a world of turmoil and constant change, how can evaluation adapt to meet the challenges of a world pandemic and make the most of the opportunities presented? This session was particularly useful to evaluators, programme/project managers and anyone with an interest on how to assess the impact of interventions at times of a pandemic crisis. Over 100 people from across the UK joined the webinar by Senior Research Officer Dr. Kakia Chatsiou who shared tips and best practice from her own evaluation practice and recent international guidance from UNDP, World Bank, IOE and IFAD. During the webinar, we covered more about: - Deciding if an evaluation is feasible at all - Adapting data collection for monitoring and accountability - Ethical aspects of evaluating during a pandemic - Evaluating hard to reach areas or populations - Disseminating your evaluation findings more widely, promoting accountability and trust in a period of uncertainty. This is part of a series designed to help you bounce back from COVID-19. Become more resilient and take advantage of the benefits data can bring. Over 168 organisations and individuals registered for the webinar. This included councils, NHS organisations, charities, researchers from Universities across the UK as well as businesses. A live Q&A widened participant involvement and was supported by proactive social media engagement enhanced the impact of the webinar. During the webinar itself, the Centre received over 7 new followers and numerous comments and shares. A recording of the webinar will be added to the YouTube channel over the coming weeks. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Bounce back from COVID-19: GDPR Virtual Masterclass (part one) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | On 29th July 2020 the Centre delivered a virtual workshop on GDPR. This masterclass was delivered in partnership with South East Creatives. The session was part one of a two-part virtual masterclass, covering all stakeholders need to know about GDPR. From the basics of data protection to the steps, to what they need to do to ensure compliance. The session included legal expert Dr Guinchard who discussed GDPR beyond Brexit, what data protection means for organisations. They learned the latest cutting edge data protection information, had their questions answered live, plus benefited from a Masterclass certificate of attendance when completing both parts one and two. 88 organisations registered for the session and included representatives from across the UK as well as international organisations from India and Germany. Excellent feedback was received through the informal chat and during the Q&A. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Bounce back from COVID-19: How to conduct a data audit webinar |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | On 26th August 2020 the Centre delivered a presentation as part of their webinar series. The data focused on the following: How can you unlock the hidden value of your data? Firstly, you need to know what you are collecting, identify the gaps and find solutions. A data audit is one of the most effective ways to identify problem areas, opportunities and efficiencies. So whether you want to enhance your impact or increase profit, a data audit is an essential part of your overall strategy to bounce back from COVID-19. This webinar covered the simple steps to conduct a data audit, how, why and when to audit, plus top tips from data analysts working in the field. This webinar is more than just GDPR compliance, this was about how to conduct an audit that will make a difference to organisations. We know, now more than ever, organisations across the world need to become adaptive, flexible and use intelligent decision making driven by evidence. Data can help you. Plus attendees had the opportunity to find out how to register your interest in grant-funded data analytics support. This is part of a series designed to help you bounce back from COVID-19. Become more resilient and take advantage of the benefits data can bring. Over 70 people registered for the webinar from a range of public, private and not-for-profit organisations world-wide. The session was well received with active engagement during the Q&A, quiz and through social media. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Bounce back from COVID19: GDPR Virtual Masterclass (part two) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | On 30th July 2020 the Centre delivered the second part of the GDPR Virtual Masterclass. This masterclass was delivered in partnership with South East Creatives. The session was part two of a two-part virtual masterclass, covering all stakeholders need to know about GDPR. From the basics of data protection to the steps, to what they need to do to ensure compliance. The session included legal expert Dr Guinchard who discussed GDPR beyond Brexit, what data protection means for organisations. They learned the latest cutting edge data protection information, had their questions answered live, plus benefited from a Masterclass certificate of attendance when completing both parts one and two. 69 organisations registered for the session and included representatives from across the UK as well as international organisations from India and Germany. Excellent feedback was received through the informal chat and during the Q&A. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | British Telecom (BT) Challenge Lab |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | About 15 people attended this event. Half of the attendees were managers and data scientists from BT, while the offer half were faculty and staff members of the University of Essex. The attendees shared presentations to introduce interesting projects they had done in the past. The aim of these presentations was to stir a discussion that would lead to ideas for future collaborations between the University of Essex and BT. Towards the end the discussion revolved around current Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) project between the University of Essex and BT. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | British Telecom (BT) Conference, Keynote Speaker |
| 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 | Prof Fasli gave a keynote talk on the applications of AI technologies and methodologies in industry and the public sector as part of the British Telecom organised conference for their data science development teams and other research and development teams on the 27th of June 2019 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | CRIME AND THE NIGHT-TIME ECONOMY IN ESSEX: A DATA SCIENCE APPROACH |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Presentation about current research on the night-time economy in Essex. 60 people attended a session which sparked questions and discussions - an increase in interest was reported. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Celebration presentations and University of Essex tour with Thymometrics |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | On 2nd March 2023, the Centre facilitated a day of presentations and networking to mark the successful completion of the two Data Science and AI Masters Projects with Thymometrics. The day involved presentations from the Centre's Senior Research Officers, the Master's student involved in one of the projects as well as a short showcase presentation on the wider research conducted in the Department of Mathematical Sciences - which included highlighting the interesting research via KTPs. After a networking lunch, the University of Essex Head of Operations provided a tour of the campus to demonstrate the various research specialisms and an impressive variety of buildings housing experts and advanced technology used in teaching as well as in research partnerships with businesses. The day was well received by all parties and Thymometrics have commented on the value the Masters projects have brought to the company as a whole and progressing their work in HR analytics. Thymometrics would now like to explore the other longer term partnerships available through the University of Essex which will be discussed over the coming months. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Centre for Competition Policy, University of East Anglia - 18th October 2019. Seminar title: "Promotions in Alcohol Sales: Lessons from the Scottish Experiment" |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | Around 20 people attended the session were the working version of the paper (same title) has been presented by my co-author Farasat A.S. Bokhari. The presentation and referee's discussion sparked questions and highlights area of improvements. We are taking methodological comments on board to be embedded in the final version of the paper to be submitted in a peer-reviewed journal. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Centre for Competition Policy, University of East Anglia - 18th October 2019. Seminar title: "Promotions in Alcohol Sales: Lessons from the Scottish Experiment" |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | Around 20 people attended the session were the working version of the paper (same title) has been presented by my co-author Farasat A.S. Bokhari. The presentation and referee's discussion sparked questions and highlights area of improvements. We are taking methodological comments on board to be embedded in the final version of the paper to be submitted in a peer-reviewed journal. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Challenge Lab : Adult social care at ECC |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Approximately 25 people attended a session which sparked questions and discussions - an increase in interest was reported. Four projects were outlined. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Challenge Lab: Adult Social Care facilitated on behalf of Essex County Council |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Approximately 25 people attended a session which sparked questions and discussions - an increase in interest was reported. Four projects were outlined. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Colchester Digital virtual conference - Putting your data strategy to the test: small data for big problems |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Presentation on data strategies and solving problems with small datasets |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Communicating risk webinar |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | On 24th June 2020 the Centre delivered a webinar on communicating risk: advice and best practice for charities and public sector. This webinar was presented by Dr Chatsiou. Description: The global COVID-19 pandemic is forcing leaders, the public sector, businesses and charities across the world to make difficult decisions that have both short term and long term implications. Each decision needs to be communicated in a clear and transparent way to convey both information, a call for action but are also an opportunity to build trust and engagement with key audiences. What can we learn from the data behind communication and its influence on behaviour change? How can leaders use best practice to improve the messages they give during critical times? In the face of a pandemic, what can leaders learn to communicate risk more effectively? We share research-driven solutions drawing upon findings. Over 80 organisations registered for the webinar. They included Public Health England, councils across the UK, a range of charities as well as business and communication consultants. Internationally attendees included representatives from India and The Netherlands. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Conference call with Health Education England |
| 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 | On 11th February 2020 the Centre undertook a conference call with Graham Seward (Health Education England) regarding the opportunity to collaborate. Discussions focused on grant funded data analytics projects, training and workshops. As a result of the call Graham has invited the Centre to present at the regional workforce planning forum in March 2020. Dates TBC. This includes members of health and social care providers, commissioners and other bodies. Graham is also interested in sharing this information with local workforce leads who focus on data analytics to address workforce issues. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Conference call with Norfolk and Suffolk Constabulary |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The Centre facilitated a call with Ben Terry and Hugh Sabel of Norfolk and Suffolk COnstabularies. The purpose of the call with to follow up on discussions in 2019 regarding a challenge lab. These initial discussions resulted from free training delivered to their workforce in 2019 which was very well received. Following an expression of interest (approved by the Centre director), the Centre plans to deliver a Challenge Lab for the police to look at the issues of accuracy in data specifically in regard to knife crime. A rule based technique using NLP, other machine learning techniques and data science innovation is of interest to both strategic and operational leads. Knife crime was chosen as the area to trial such a solution as it is a high risk area, one where data accuracy is having an impact and is also a priority for the Home Office. A productive call end with a timeline for finalising a proposal in March, follow up call planned for April then Challenge Lab booked fro September. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Conference call with Public Health England and Essex Local Dental Network |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | On 25th November 2019 the centre facilitated a conference call with Sam Glover (Public Health England) and Rachel Doogan (Essex Local Dental Network). Sam is an ongoing contact of the centre. In partnership with PHE, NHS England, CCGS and other members, the group plan to submit a DAIV regarding oral health/access to dental services for those with dementia. The outcomes of the research would inform commissioning decisions, dental staff training packages and the information provided to those working with those with dementia in the community and care homes . The DAIV application has been submitted and is subject the research feedback. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Consultation call with Goal 17 |
| 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 | On 22nd January 2020 the Centre undertook a consultation call with Fran Bowman of Goal 17. The company had previously received a DAIV and are now looking for further data analytics support as they launch the next phase of their programme. The Centre offered advise and support on the data to collect and how interdisciplinary research could create a model of best practice for their mentorship scheme. The call was very positive, Fran is interested in attending the 2020 events, workshops and webinars. Further details sent. Follow up consultation call on 18th March 2020. Dr Kakia Chatsoui involved. Offered advice on impact assessment markers and best practice to weave through the project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Consultation with Agile Research |
| 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 | Following attendance at the Data Driven Marketing event in September 2019, Agile Research (CEO Nick and his colleague) attended a consultation with the Centre to discuss areas of collaboration. They focus on traditional forms of market research to inform public sector digital platform development and service delivery. The company are keen to partner with the centre for larger scale research and to work with shared stakeholders on more complex data analytics research where market analysis, focus groups etc are required. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Consultation with Attract and Engage |
| 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 | On 23rd March 2020 the Centre conducted a virtual consultation with Richard Willis of Attract and Engage. (Richard originally emailed to explore a potential partnership where they would pay for us to complete the work) The project is called Tabletop to One Million. Tabletopto1million.org It will focus on: Working with a range of partners to support female entrepreneur in Essex. This includes mentorship and information. They are interested in the challenges females face and barriers to work/success. This includes connecting those women in the million range/success with those at the start of their journey. Ideally Richard would like support with: • Designing the survey • Collating the data • Analysing the results We discussed the use of AI to improve match matching with a suitable coach. This is a model they are very interested in. As this is a not-for-profit, they do have a limited budget from their partners (including the Brentwood Borough Council and other larger organisations/sponsors). We discussed that DAIV is only applicable (potentially) for the data analytics part and the survey/research into the key markers to identify the areas they can market An EOI was raised and sent to the Centre Director for approval. In the meantime, the client was signposted to online existing research by Understanding Society and the University of Essex. They were also encouraged to follow the Centre online. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Consultation with Birmingham City Council |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | On 31st March 2020 the Centre delivered a presentation to Birmingham City Council via Zoom. This remote session focused on the services delivered by the Centre including case studies of data analytics support, training, and other support. Birmingham City Council is the biggest council in Europe and analytics is a key priority for their organisation. The council expressed an interest in DAIVs, training and challenge labs. They have over 50 use cases which could be applicable for a DAIV. Stephen Booth (Birmingham City Council) joined the conference call following a recent webinar and email exchange. Next steps will include the council looking at their top priority areas for the use of data and contacting the Centre to discuss potential EOI projects. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Consultation with Carers First |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | On 6th May 2020, the Centre conducted a virtual consultation with Karen Johnson and Alison Taylor of Carers First. This contact resulted from attending a previous webinar and from hearing about the work of the Centre during attendance at one of the free workshops delivered in 2019. The purpose of the virtual consultation was to offer support and advice on the charity's use of data for the purpose of impact assessment. the call was also an opportunity to promote the upcoming webinars and future opportunities to collaborate with the Centre through grant-funded data analytics projects. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Consultation with Colchester Digital CiC |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | On 21st February 2020 the Centre met with Kerry Cole of Colchester Digital. The meeting arose as Kerry is also a board member of Healthwatch Essex. The CiC is organising a conference for up to 250 people in COlchester and one of the workstreams is data. They have invited the Centre to present on the topic. An interesting meeting resulted in the Centre suggesting a number of topics relevant to the creative and digital business sector related to data. Kerry will confirm which she feels would work best based on the wider agenda for the day. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Consultation with ESNEFT |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | On 10th January 2020, the Centre facilitated a conference call with ESNEFT. The call involved Shane Gordon (Head of Data Analytics), Rebecca Driver, Peter Cook and Sean Whatling (representing staff engagement, communications, strategy and insight). The call included a general introduction to the Centre and discussions around using NLP to analyse free text such as social media, friends and family test results as well as the staff survey. These areas are particularly important given the current news around BAME engagement as well as bullying in the workplace. The untapped data within ESNEFT was brought to light following the Centre's work with David Sollis of Healthwatch Essex. The positive call ended with the team discussing potential challenge lab topics, training, bitesized workshops and DAIV applications. A follow up call or meeting will be arranged later in 2020 for next steps. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Consultation with East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust (ESNEFT) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | On 17th May 2021, the Centre conducted a virtual consultation with Frances Farnworth, Head of Research and Development-Strategy, Research and Innovation, East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust (ESNEFT). Frances had been tasked with collating information for their senior team on research partners and opportunities for analytics in the wake of upcoming projects. Frances stated she was looking to fund the research and wanted a cost per hour/day card in order to formulate the best option for each project. The Centre explained the grant funded opportunities available through the DAIV and Master's DAIV scheme. Both of which were well recieved. Further details were shared via email. Following the Masters DAIV application submitted in July 2021 the Centre contacted the client on 4th August 2021 to inform them of the approval panel's feedback. The project related to Using AI to close the close health inequalities in local health services was accepted. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Consultation with Highways Essex |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | On 20th January 2020 the Centre met with Will Young of Essex Highways. Will was referred by EIRA for data analytics support. The meeting focused on viewing the data they hold as well as discussing their key challenges and the scope for embedding innovative research and data analytics techniques to make improvements that have the potential to revolutionise the way roads and pathways are managed in Essex. The discussion also explored how to collaborate with the Centre via DAIVs, other data analytics support, training and workshops. Next steps will be for Will to speak to his team about identifying the best project to pursue first and also to scope a theme for an interactive training session. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Consultation with Joining Ventures |
| 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 | On 15th May 2020 the Centre facilitated a virtual consultation with Joining Ventures. Alex Kountourides from Joining Ventures and his colleague joined the call. The consultation focused on the support available through the Centre including DAIVs. The company is looking to create a novel approach using data analytics to launch a project used for real estate valuation. This includes the use of NLP and GO data. Some questions were raised regarding IP and we agreed to discuss this further at the point of application/expression of interest. The company expects to have the required data by 2021 and will apply for support at this point. In the meantime, the company CEO plans to follow us on social media in order to keep up to date on new opportunities as they emerge. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Consultation with Keep Fit Eat Fit |
| 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 | On 8th November 2019, the centre held a DAIV consultation with the CEOs of Keep Fit Eat Fit Ltd. Emma Wakeling of EIRA joined us for the consultation to discuss the wider collaborative opportunities. The consultation went well and the business was keen to engage with the centre further in the coming months. However at present their business is in the early stages and as a result it does not have data to analyse. The company is using AI and other data collection methods to support corporate sector in improving staff engagement and health. They are working with Google and many others internationally to launch the product in 2020. The company has attended the Data Driven Marketing Workshop hosted by the centre in September 2019 and reported that this was very useful. The company is keen to attend future training and workshops as well as webinars. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Consultation with Kent County Council |
| 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 | On 21st April 2021 the Centre delivered a virtual consultation with John Hockley (Programme Manager, Strategic Reset Programme) and Liz Sanderson of Kent County Council who are working on digital transformation and data resilience. The consultation resulted from John watching a recent webinar which has been uploaded on the Centre's YouTube channel. Kent County Council is facing a range of internal and external challenges due to increased demand and financial pressure. They have a range of priority areas including health, quality and partnerships. There are 12 priority programmes. This will be underpinned by a strong data strategy which they require support creating. A productive consultation led to further support addressing skills gaps and supporting them to make a plan for moving forward. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Consultation with Mid and South Essex Local Maternity and Neonatal System |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | On 8th November 2021 the Centre conducted a consultation with Gemma Hickford, Consultant Midwife, Mid and South Essex Local Maternity and Neonatal System who is working across Mid and South Essex Clinical Commissioning Groups as well as wider ICS. The group are interested in using data from their partners to understand the barriers faced by ethnic minorities when facing maternity services in the region. Both the extent of the barriers, long/short term impact of lack of access as well as drivers for the inequalities were all touched upon during the consultation. The resulting research report will be used to inform a new strategic maternity and neonatal service as well as be used as a model of best practice across the UK. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Consultation with Ministry of Parenting |
| 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 | The Centre facilitated a consultation with Jeannie Gordon of Ministry of Parenting to discuss her DAIV application. The consultation took place on 28th October 2019. Jeannie had attended both the Impact Assessment and Data Driven Marketing events in 2019. She reported that they had influenced the procedures in place within the charity including their social media strategy and data collection. She complemented us on the useful resources within the delegate packs which provided the foundations on which to implement what she learnt. Jeannie also participated in the DAIV process webinar earlier in October 2019. She reported that the webinar was useful in scoping the potential research project and was keen to book a consultation following this. The consultation focused on the struggles their charity faces in analysing the true impact of interventions on families as well as how to champion this work in order to influence policy and early intervention services. Jeannie found the session to be very useful and plans to complete a DAIV application during November 2019 for feedback. The charity is also keen to benefit from future webinars and events. DAIV Application completed and submitted in 2019 funding round. The outcome is pending approval. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Consultation with Open Road |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | The Centre conducted a consultation with Sarah Wright CEO of Open Road. They have been commissioned to deliver a new initiative. The project will focus on analysing GP data looking at safer prescribing of medication. The project is funded by Essex commissioners and will commence in summer 2021. Sarah would like to apply for a DAIV in order to analyse the data they collect in the project and will apply to work with us in late 2021 or January 2022. A second project is currently taking place that may be suitable for a Master DAIV in the current funding round but will need to be scoped by their team. Further information about the Master DAIV was sent via email along and Jamie (project lead) will contact the team to discuss further. This stakeholder engagement resulted from existing DAIV work and involvement at past workshops targeted at the third sector. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Consultation with Pioneer Sailing Trust |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | On 11th February 2020 the Centre met with Pioneer Sailing Trust to conduct a follow up consultation. Dr Amir Jahangiri attended the meeting which took place at the charity's HQ. The meeting focused on how the charity can strengthen its data collection process in order to better assess the impact of their work. We emphasised the need to digitalise feedback rather than relying solely on paper records and the need for a consistent evaluation form. The charity was supported in scoping the markers for questions to include in the evaluation form aligned to their objectives and vision as a charity. We discussed what 'impact' means to them as an organisation. The charity was also reminded about the resources provided during the 2019 Impact Assessment workshop which included question banks and model evaluation forms. The charity was also sign posted to our up and coming events and workshops. A positive meeting concluded with a tour of their workshop and the charity expressing their gratitude at the support the Centre has provided to date. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Consultation with Princes Trust |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | On 13th February 2020 the Centre facilitated a consultation with Jenny Ball of Princes Trust to discuss their recent draft Data Analytics Innovation Voucher (DAIV) application. Discussions focused on the charity's aspiration to meet the unmet need of vulnerable young people in the east of England. They expressed that there is a large pool of potential service users who are not accessing the charity's support. Through the use of data, they wish to identify where these young people are and how best to reach them. We explored the use of internal and external data sets, their value, constraints and potential impact on the charity. The charity was also reminded of the valuable resources provided regarding social media during the 2019 workshops (which charity representatives attended). A positive meeting concluded with the charity meeting with their wider team to refine and review their application in light of the discussions held with the Centre as well as hence the data analytics capabilities available to them through social media analytical tools attached to each of the relevant platforms. Jenny was engaged to register for future workshops and join us at the annual conference to hear more about the power of data analytics. Engagement with the third sector was enhanced more widely through the use fo social media following the meeting. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Consultation with Prospect Solutions |
| 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 | On 23rd February 2021 the Centre provided a virtual consultation to support Richard Partridge of Prospect Solutions. Richard is about to commence a new project designed to tackle health inequalities and antisocial behaviour through the use of sport. The Centre provided advice and support on how to collect data and measure the effectiveness of interventions using approaches such as SROI. As a result of the consultation, Richard plans to join future webinars, events and training sessions as well as apply for a DAIV in 2022. Richard first became aware of the Centre due to attending the Active Essex event in 2019 during which the Centre presented on the importance of data. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Consultation with Provide CiC |
| 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 | Following engagement dating back to January 2020, the Centre was sent a research and data analysis brief on 15th June 2020 to inform discussions held via a Zoom. The Zoom consultation involved John Niland of Provide CiC. The project will potentially also use the expertise of partner Agile Research and Nick Richmond. The aim of the project will be... To create a predictive computer model that learns from historical data to identify patients at risk of not attending their healthcare appointments. The model should integrate with existing systems and ways of working and be developed according to principles of user-centered design to help ensure outputs are useful. The Centre referred this enquiry onto the director for approval ahead of any involvement and/or referring the contact onto the Central University of Essex for interdisciplinary support. On 16th June 2020 the Centre received a formal EOI from John Niland. This was sent to the director of the Centre for approval. On 18th June 2020 the directors approved the EOI and informed the client. The full application forms were released for completion. Application form completed for DAIV on 30th June 2020 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Consultation with Southend CCG and partners from the primary care network in south Essex |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | On 29th April 2020, the Centre facilitated a consultation with partners from the primary care network in south and mid Essex including Southend CCG and CSU. On the call was Dr Sunil Gupta, Jennifer Speller, Carol Machin, Brian Hughes and Hugh Johnston. The call explored the vast amount of data being collected by individual practices and the potential it could have to manage demand and need as well as capacity. Also discussed as COVID-19 and impact on behaviour change when seeking help for health related issues. In particular, GP practice data was discussed and how we could create a model for identifying those at risk of cancer who are not presenting at practice due to COVID19. We also discussed the impact of mental health and how those presenting in hospital with COVID19 are more likely to have depression. The group were interested in a challenge lab to scope what is possible. Next steps will include an EOI for submission. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Consultation with Southend Carers |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | On 18th November 2019 the centre undertook a conference call with Dawnette Fessy of Southend Carers (charity) to discuss their interest in the DAIV scheme. The call was a result of the webinar delivered in October 2019. A positive conference call explored the opportunity to analyse the charity's data in order to understand more about the impact of their services, diversity, barriers and service improvement. As a result of the call, the charity requested an application form which they are hoping to submit in December 2019. The charity also expressed an interest in future webinars and free training sessions. On 2nd December 2019, Dawnette submitted a DAIV application form for review. The outcome is pending. The Data Analytics Innovation Voucher (DAIV) application has been approved and the formal offer letter has been sent to the client and a Senior Research Officer has been assigned to work on the DAIV. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Consultation with Thurrock Council |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | On 3rd January 2020 the Centre held a conference call with Billy Masters (Economic Development Officer, Economic Development, Thurrock Council). The call covered all elements of the Centre including the support on offer for councils such as training and DAIVs. Billy was particularly interested in the DAIVs as the team are int he process of fomru,alting their economic growth strategy. In addition to DAIVs, Billy expressed an interest in having the Centre attend a business focused event (annual showcase event) in order to promote the Centre to a wide network of businesses and other organisations in the Thurrock area. This is to be confirmed with his team. Follow up details were sent regarding the Centre's services, up and coming webinar and a save the date for the annual conference. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Consultation with the Violence Reduction Unit - West Midlands |
| 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 | On 15th June 2020 the Centre facilitated a virtual consultation with Jason Davies and colleagues from the Violence Reduction Unit in Westmidlands. They are also the lead for the regional data analyst group and have engaged with the Centre for training in 2019. The session covered how to apply for a DAIV as well as the potential research project they would like to submit an application for. The group have a number of challenges that they wish to overcome using data and are keen to collaborate with the Centre. We recommended that they complete a EOI in order to scope the project and apply before the funding round closes. Application for a DAIV was submitted for review by the board on 3rd July 2020. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Consultation: Co-op East of England Community and Events Team |
| 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 | On 11th November 2019, the Centre facilitated a meeting between Coop East of England and My Home Life Essex who are looking to work in partnership to build community cohesion and tackle isolation and loneliness through intergenerational activities taking place in Essex. One of the areas discussed was the difficulty in measuring impact which has a ripple effect on the community as well as the individuals involved. The partners agreed to take things forward to look at collaborative opportunities and were grateful for the centre's role in connecting organisations for greater impact regionally. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Cybersecurity Amid COVID-19 webinar |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | On 13th May 2020, the Centre facilitated a webinar on Cybersecurity Amid COVID-19. A growing number of cybercriminals are exploiting the COVID-19 outbreak and security agencies across the world are issuing COVID-19 cybersecurity threat updates as more organisations are falling victim. Now is the time to protect yourself and your organisation. Learn from home with our virtual workshop delivered by Dr. Audrey Guinchard, a leading expert working at the intersection between cybercrime, data protection, and cybersecurity. From top tips to how to find out if your account has been hacked plus an opportunity to have your burning cybersecurity questions answered live, join us for a workshop like no other. 63 organisations across the world (predominately in the UK) registered for the webinar. Feedback throughout the webinar was very positive. Engagement was extended through the use of social media. The webinar was recorded and will be added to the Centre's YouTube channel over the coming weeks. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | DAIV Application from Better Care Fund (lead by Mid Essex CCG) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Following the Challenge Lab and subsequent contact in early 2019, Jo Hall Programme Director- Resilience. Mid Essex Clinical Commissioning Group) submitted a DAIV application on 3rd December 2019 on behalf of the Better Care Fund. A follow up email was sent on 30th December 2019 to explain next steps. The DAIV application is pending approval from the board who are due to meet in January 2020 to make final decisions on which projects to fund. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | DAIV Application from Bradford College |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | On 28th November 2019 the Centre received a DAIV application from Louise Dean of Bradford College. The application is a result of attending a recent webinar in which the DAIv process and the opportunity for data analytics was showcased. The DAIV application has been sent to the team for feedback ahead of being submitted to Maria Fasli (Centre Director) for approval in 2020. The Centre sent a holding statement to Louise on 30th December 2019. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | DAIV Application from Bradford College |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | On 5th March 2020 the Centre sent the decision email following a recent Data Analytics Innovation Voucher application made by Louise Dean of Bradford College. After careful consideration the team including Centre Deputy Director did not feel the project objectives aligned to the priority areas of the DAIV. The Centre thanked Louise for her interest in the scheme and provide feedback as well as sign posted her to other services offered by the Centre including training and podcasts. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | DAIV Consultation with Essex Highways |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | On 2nd January 2020, the Centre undertook a conference call with Will Young (Essex Highways) to discuss the opportunity for collaboration. A positive call focused on the past DAIV projects for other highways agencies as well as wider public sector. As a result of the call, Will is undertaking an operational data audit. The results from this will be discussed on 20th January 2020 in order to map data capacity against strategy/challenges/priorities. This will then inform a DAIV application in later 2020. The Will Young was referred to the centre from Emma Wakeling (EIRA) in November 2019. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | DAIV Consultation with Garden City - Louise Denyer |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | On 19th November 2019 the centre facilitated a consultation to discuss how research and data analytics could be used in the planning of the garden cities. A number of potential research projects were discussed including predictive analytics for mapping the flow of people, behaviour change drivers, economic growth, sustainability etc. With a number of competing priorities and potential research opportunities, the centre suggested a challenge lab to explore these projects in collaboration with the team. Louise is working with North East Essex CCG including Jane Mower and Essex County Council to plan the cities. Following the meeting, the centre exchanged emails. jane is hoping to discuss the challenge lab concept with her team with a view to taking it forward in 2020. On 6th April 2020 Louise submitted a formal EOI ahead of a DAIV application. The EOI is with the Centre director for approval. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | DAIV Consultation with Norman Knights |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | On 8th January 2020, the Centre facilitated a conference call with Norman Knights Ltd. This involved Sangeet Shar (Director). The company was seeking advise on how to use data more effectively. The contact resulted from a BEST Growth Hub referral in 2019. The Centre provided advice and guidance on how to collect and use customer data to improve marketing and predict demand for services/products. The information was well received. The business owners were keen to attend future webinars and workshops. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | DAIV Consultation with What Works Wellbeing |
| 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 | On 8th January 2020, the centre facilitated a conference call with What Works Wellbeing leads Jamila Boughelaf, Magdalena Soffia and Eileen Donnelly. Following their attendance at the 2019 DAIV webinar, the team wish to put in an application for a DAIV in partnership with Bupa. The project would involve analysing Bupa data to create a profile for sectors encompassing physical and mental health. Using the profiles they with to explore predictive analytics to look at behaviours that could indicate declines in health, enabling earlier intervention. It would also allow at risk groups and profile comparisons across jobs/sectors. The What Works Wellbeing team would act as project managers in the project and have a good relationship with Bupa. They are keen to publish findings and disseminate information in order to benefit businesses more broadly. The call was well received and all questions answered. Next steps will involve Bupa and UK Data Archive to discuss project specifics ahead of the DAIV application in 2020. The Data Analytics Innovation Voucher (DAIV) application has been approved and the formal offer letter has been sent to the client and a Senior Research Officer has been assigned to work on the DAIV. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | DATA PEOPLE: Changes in online shopping behaviour due to COVID-19 and its impact on AI |
| 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 Business and Local Government Data Research Centre were invited back by the University of Brighton as part of their "DRIVA" project to deliver an interactive webinar on how data-driven consumer recommendations have been impacted by lockdown behaviours - and how this might influence that comes next. What is the role of data in e-commerce recommendation systems - and how have changes in online shopping behaviour due to COVID-19 had an impact on the AI-based recommender system and business in general. Imagine the future of personalised online retail - what does that look like, and how does it quickly adapt to global crises and changes in behaviour? Dr Farhana Liza give an introduction to the background and origins of how recommender systems have been commercial developed and how the algorithms used parse data to the recommender engine to build and to present the dynamic personalised selection to consumer at the point of sale. This high level introduction was well received and the copy of the slide-deck and recording of the webinar is available via the DRIVA website. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://drivaartsdriva.com/index.php?p=resources/data-personalisation-knowing-me-knowing-you-how-is-... |
| Description | Data Analytics Support - CHAPS Mens Health |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | On 18th November 2019, Celine Larkin (CHAPS Mens Health) contacted the centre for data analytics support in order to extract information from an unusable format. Our researchers swiftly supported the charity convering the data into a format that is useable and will enable the charity to effectively evaluate the impact of their work and market more effectively. The transformation of data combined with the knowledge and resources provided during their recent attendance at the Impact Assessment and Data Driven Marketing workshops in 2019 means the charity has been able to more effectively lobby parliament and influence policy making as well as share best practice nationally related to prostate cancer screening and mens health. As a result of our support, the charity has requested involvement in future workshops, webinars and now follows us social media. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Data Consultation Clinic - Essex County Council |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | On 18th November 2019 the centre undertook a conference call with the senior strategy advisor for Essex County COuncil. The contact arose from Dr Alejandro Quiroz Flores. The call was an opportunity to discuss the work of the centre as well as areas to collaborate through the DAIV scheme. Jo Boyd Wallis and Jack Daniels from the council joined the call. They expressed an interest in a transport related project including predictive analytics and correlation/causation data matching to look at the impact of transport on communities (such as health, economic growth/employment and community engagement). Following the call, the centre provided follow up information and a DAIV application form for completion. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Data for Good |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | On 25th February 2020 the Centre delivered a presentation as part of a voluntary sector engagement event organised in partnership with Essex Centre for Data Analytics (ECDA) (a partnership between Essex County Council, Police and University) and Data Kind. The presentation focused on the support available for charities as well as how they can enhance their use of data. Case studies were shared and networking opportunities created a number of new contacts. All delegates received Centre information packs to share best practice. The workshop also included a Q&A with a panel of data analysts. Dr Philipp Broniecki participated in this aspect of the event. An engaged audience asked a range of questions. The event was also an opportunity to build further working relationships with ECDA and Data Kind. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Diversity in Artificial Intelligence webinar - How do you ensure using AI avoids maintaining systems which are inherently biased? |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This was a webinar facilitated by Profusion a Knowledge Transfer Partnership company from the University of Essex which Professor Maria Fasli the PI of the Business and Local Government was a guest panellist which coincided with the announcement of being listed by Silicon Republic as a leading figure in Data Science and was therefore well qualified to discuss diversity and the wider contribution in the technology space. The audience heard a number of challenges both in diversity but also STEM subjects that will help to inspire the next generation and the best practice required when companies are looking to recruit or promote staff in various data science positions. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | ECDA Homelessness Working Group |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Essex policy makers met to discuss joining data from different institutions to be able to better predict and prevent homelessness. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | ESNEFT training (East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | 60 people attended a session which sparked questions and discussions - an increase in interest was reported. This training session was offered to health professionals from ESNEFT (East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust). They participated in 3 workshops learning the basics of statistics and programming in R. At the end of the workshop, participants got hands on advice on how to tackle their own research projects. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Eastern Arc Conference 2020 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | 80 people attended the Eastern ARC (Academic Research Consortium) annual conference hosted at Wivenhoe House, University of Essex. The speakers included Dr Ben Bleasdale, Policy & Advocacy Adviser, the Wellcome Trust; Richard Brabner, Director, The UPP Foundation; Dr Kirstie Cochrane, Director, Enabling Innovation:Research to Application (EIRA); Prof Pamela Cox, Director, South East Network for Social Sciences Doctoral Training Partnership; Jill Downey, Institutions Engagement Manager, Research England; Prof Phillippe De Wilde, Deputy Vice Chancellor Research and Innovation, University of Kent; Dr Alex Hulkes, Strategic Lead, ESRC Insights Team;Dr Ben Miller, Eastern Arc Fellow in Synthetic Biology, University of East Anglia; Prof Leo Schalkwyk, Professor, University of Essex; Wendy Stone, Director, The Global Academy; Dr Martin Szomszor, Director ogf the Institute for Scientific Information, Clarivate Analytics and Phil Ward, Director, Eastern Arc. Via a series themed panel discussions and plenary sessions a number of thought provoking debates ensued, enabling the speakers to take the feedback to their organisations, including an invitation to attend the Wellcome Trust "Town Meeting" and for Research England to better understand the needs of the region excluding the University of Cambridge outputs. The Eastern Arc Director, was recommended to speak to the Business and Local Government Data Research Centre, having recommended to so do by Dr Julien Forder, University of Kent a former Co-I, so mutual collaborative opportunities will be discussed as well as progressing discussions with Dr Andrew Bateman, NIHR Research Design Service. Including opportunities for social media postings and strengthening relationships going forwards. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://easternarc.ac.uk/news/eastern-arc-conference-2020 |
| Description | Engagement with HTN |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | On 29th March 2021 the Centre undertook a virtual meeting with journalists and publicists at HTN. Following a series of email exchanges with publishers at HTN, the Centre met virtually with the organisation to discuss its work, benefits and opportunities available for its readers specifically around data analytics. HTN were very keen to progress the conversation into a featured news piece, article on their website and topic for a future webinar/event. HTN is an innovative platform for the health tech community. Through their website, newspaper, HTN Digital Week, Health Tech Awards and Features, HTN offers a unique depth, breadth and perspective on health technology. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Enquiry from 'Carbn Gardn' |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | On 22nd February 2022 the Centre received an email from Rebecca Thompson, Chief Executive and Tim Plummer, Chief Technical Officer at Carbn Gardn. The team had been informed about the Centre by Innovate UK. Having won the Young Innovators Award from Innovate UK, Rebecca wished to submit a project as part of the Centre's Data Science and AI Masters Project scheme. The application was completed for a project titled: The companion planting data project. Carbn Gardn is a new business that will help people cut carbon with their garden, supporting climate action. By introducing techniques people with access to outdoor spaces can store more carbon in their soil and vegetation. The company are building an app that helps users introduce the principles that maximise the carbon they store in their gardens. One important aspect of this is companion planting. With a given selection of crops that the user would like to grow, the Carbn Gardn app tells them all the other companion plants to include in their garden to optimise growth in a sustainable way. In order to do this they need to consolidate and expand the plant interactions dataset, i.e. the companion planting data project. The project will include the following work: 1. Consolidate plant properties database, covering all aspects of the plants' requirements and the impacts they have on their external environment. This will include the impact on soil quality, including available nutrients and carbon sequestration, interactions with pests, impacts on biodiversity, and chemical secretions given out by plants to support or hinder the growth of surrounding plants. 2. Consolidate the significant research and anecdotal evidence (generally available on specific interactions) from various online sources of positive and negative plant interactions and the hypothesised or proven reasons. 3. Using our plant properties database as our modelling features, we will build a model to predict undocumented plant interactions and validate our documented ones. This will enable the company to more accurately create groupings of mutually beneficial plants within the digital garden tools we are providing to the public, maximising plant yield when grown in line with carbon gardening principles. In May 2022 the faculty leads for the Data Science and AI Masters Project scheme met. The heads of faculty form the decision panel for approving projects during this funding round. The Centre informed the client that their project had been accepted by the approval panel. The project will now be advertised to Masters students and aligned to the most suitable candidate ahead of the project commencing in June or September 2022. In September 2022 the data science commenced, with a Masters student from the Dept of Mathematics at the University of Essex being supported by the Senior Research Officers within our Centre as well as their academic supervisor. The project was completed in January 2023 with a written business report as well as academic outputs. Both client and student gained valuable insight from the project and plan to build on this knowledge beyond 2023. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Enquiry from 'Happyr Health' |
| 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 | On 10th February 2022 the Centre received an enquiry from Happyr Health as we had been recommended by Innovate UK. Cornelius Palm, CEO & Co-Founder of the company is also the Innovate UK Young Innovator Award Winner. A consultation is being arranged to discuss opportunities for research in more detail and application forms were provide in order to draft outline project proposals ahead of the deadline for the Masters DAIV round. Project 1 and 2 were submitted on 18th February 2022. These were titled: Project 1: Tamer - personalized wellbeing Project 2: Project 2 Tamer - Migraine prediction Both projects will be reviewed by the approval panel at the end of the funding round. Cornelius would particularly like to collaborate with the Centre through the Data Science and AI Master Project scheme. The company had a number of ideas in mind and reported: We support teens with chronic pain conditions, starting with migraine, by matching them with behavioural exercises. We are starting with wellbeing exercises such as yoga, breathing exercises and meditation that are delivered like TikTok. First, we look at preferences, at a second stage at the clinical impact of the exercise for the individual user. The mid-term goal is a mobile self-management platform for teens in pain. Effective through personalisation. The project could be match-making algorithms (but they need to work without or little existing data) that could learn on small scale user groups from video content and user behaviour. Nicola, my co-founder and a migraine patient since age 4, tracks her lifestyle with a wearable watch and our mobile emotions and migraine diary. Getting to first assumptions about what causes or lessens her migraine, her low or high mood would be an interesting start to API integrate wearables within the app environment. We got a first up and running product with the first couple of hundreds of downloads. Young people with migraine or recurring headaches track their emotions (for mental wellbeing) and symptoms (for physical wellbeing) in a format that is supported through NICE guidelines and co-created with patients and leading doctors and researchers. Clinicians can receive a PDF export of the headache diary from the patients to adjust their treatment recommendations. I believe the available data is too little to be of interest. Maybe pairing it with existing data banks would be more conclusive. Download the mobile app for iOs here and for Android here. In May 2022 the faculty leads for the Data Science and AI Masters Project scheme met. The heads of faculty form the decision panel for approving projects during this funding round. The Centre informed the client that one of their projects had been accepted by the approval panel. The project will now be advertised to Masters students and aligned to the most suitable candidate ahead of the project commencing in June or September 2022. In September 2022 the successfully appointed Masters student from the Dept of Mathematics commenced the project. The data analytics research project was completed in January 2023. The results were present to the client and in particular the literature review (which formed part of the project) was found to provide great insight into existing research in the area of chronic pain management and migraine data use. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Enquiry from AARCA/Assisting Adult Recovery from Childhood Abuse |
| 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 | On 9th September 2020 the Centre received an enquiry from John Wills of Assisting Adult Recovery from Childhood Abuse. John is the project lead for AARCA. He attended the DAIV webinar which took place earlier that day. Whilst John is early on in the project planning for some elements, he is seeking support and guidance on what markers to collect/data etc ready for a DAIV submission in due course. John is aware DAIVs can not be used for the collection of data. But he is still interested in engaging with the Centre. We discussed the importance of defining a research question aligned to the goals of the organisations, challenges or priorities. As a result he kindly summarised some points. He reported... 'There are 3 areas of interest I have that think could help with data analysis, I thought it could be helpful if I outlined them to you before, to see if it's something that could benefit from your programme: 1. Due to Covid and the inability of many services to offer face to face support. It has got me thinking about: "The effectiveness of an online Programme in aiding recovery and improving the emotional well-being and self esteem of survivors of Child Abuse". 2. I have worked with survivors for 25 years and have never come across services that specifically try and help survivors with sensory impairment (sight or hearing), statistically we know that vulnerable children are more at risk to abuse, so I would imagine that this group of people need a targeted approach: "Is there a specific gap and need to offer support for survivors of abuse who also suffer sensory impairment? Could an online programme (mentioned above) be used to help address this issue?" 3. I have spoken to many survivors over the years who suffer greatly from anxiety when trying to seek help or who are facing procedures, such as the dentist or medical examinations. I have come up with the idea that survivors could have a card (like a Credit Card size) that they how health professionals or other authority figures that explains they have suffered trauma and have specific anxiety. All the survivors I have spoken to have said it could help enormously. One issue survivors face is not wanting to go into huge amounts of detail and don't know how to broach the subject, so either suffer in silence or don't engage with services. "Would having a Trauma Identification Card be of benefit to survivors of abuse and health and other professionals during procedures"? "Would having a Trauma identification Card help enable trauma victims to engage with services more easily and frequently". John is a survivor himself and a Visiting Lecturer and Consultant at the University of Essex Dept. HSS. John said the main aims of any research/analytics would be to 'strengthen funding bids, improve services and to make people more aware of the needs of survivors. The bottom line is, I want to improve the lives for victims of childabuse.' |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Enquiry from Acua Ocean |
| 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 | On 25th June 2021 the Centre received an enquiry from Neil Tinmouth co-founder of Acua Ocean. Neil has recently co-founded a startup that is developing hydrogen-powered uncrewed surface vessels (H-USVs) for marine monitoring and protection. They are currently in discussions with two satellite companies; one provides AIS data and the other detecting and characterizing vessels' passive electromagnetic signature. As a result they are looking to use develop an AI solution and data analytics to be able to compare the two datasets from a set area over a certain period to identify any vessels that may have been acting illegally in the area with the intention that in the future they could deploy this technology globally to add greater situational awareness to our USVs and identify the target to intercept more timeously. Information about the Data Science and AI Project Placement Scheme: Masters DAIV and application forms were sent via email for completion along with the offer of a consultation to discuss further. 29.6.21 - Neil submitted a Data Science and AI Project PLacement application form. The project is titled 'Analysis of satellite data to identify illegal activities'. It aims to analyse 2 geospatial satellite data sets to identify irregular vessel activities in real-time using geospatial data: AIS and radio frequency data in form of position and identifier to highlight suspicious vessel activity. 6.7.21 - The Centre conducted an indepth consultation with Neil, Centre deputy director and senior research officer as well as outreach officer to discuss wider opportunities for analysis, particularly focused on AI and illegal activity using behaviour data to predict patterns. Also interested in collision avoidance and hydrogen use for predicting issues in engines using machine learning. 4.8.21 - the Centre informed the client that their application had been accepted for the Masters DAIV scheme and will proceed to the next phase. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Enquiry from African Families UK |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | On 27th January 2020, the Centre received a call from the Colchester based charity African Families UK. Having seen some advertisement through social media, the charity was interested in knowing a little more about DAIVs and what is applicable. The charity was informed and all questions answered. The |Centre advised attending the next webinar to find out more. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Enquiry from Amber Grove Homes |
| 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 | On 1st March 2021 the centre received an enquiry from Daoud Himmo of Amber Grove Homes. He expressed an interest in the Data Analytics Innovation Voucher (DAIV) scheme and its availability. Further information was provided by the Centre and we await more details from Daoud as to what the project may entail as well as its suitability for the DAIV and/or wider support from the team. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Enquiry from AmbioTEK Community Interest Company |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | On 2nd February 2022 the Centre received an enquiry from Dr Sophia Burke of AmbioTEK Community Interest Company. AmbioTEK CIC is the not-for-profit company that co-founded www.policysupport.org and www.freestation.org. Dr Burke was interested in the Data Science and AI Masters Projects as part of their data strategy. AmbioTEK are partners in Global Dam Watch (GDW) http://globaldamwatch.org/ and the main partners are research institutions and WWF. GDW has a curated list of 100,000 records of dams around the world and we are currently in the process of harmonizing multiple databases to increase their utility. Ultimately the database will allow users to assess the impact of dams on society and the environment, both positive and negative, and assess the impact that environmental changes-i.e. land use and climate change, or conservation activities - may have on their catchments. On 21st February 2022 the Centre received a completed Data Science and AI Masters Project application form. The project was titled: Using Big Data for Environmental Management. Within this there are a range of projects: (1) electronics projects related with open source environmental sensing (see www.freestation.org) (2) machine learning to process audio data from Audiomoth deployments for the identification of individual species from their vocalisations (3) Geographical Information Systems and mapping visualisations based on Python and R libraries for global remote sensing projects eg www.globaldamwatch The application will be reviewed by the approval panel at the end of the funding round. In May 2022 the faculty leads for the Data Science and AI Masters Project scheme met. The heads of faculty form the decision panel for approving projects during this funding round. The Centre informed the client that their project had been accepted by the approval panel. The project will now be advertised to Masters students and aligned to the most suitable candidate ahead of the project commencing in June or September 2022. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Enquiry from Asim Habib |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | On 17th June 2021 the Centre received an enquiry from Asim Habib. They contacted the Centre to request an application form for the Data Science and AI Project Placement: Masters DAIV programme. No further details were given at this time and it looks likely that the individual is expressing an interest as a Masters student. Further information along with application forms were supplied for completion if relevant. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Enquiry from BODYSWAP |
| 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 | On 15th January 2020, the Centre received an expression of interest in the DAIV scheme which was made via email. BODYSWAPS is a behavioral training platform powered by Virtual Reality. It works by letting employees practice their soft skills by acting out, with their own voice and body language, a range of realistic scenarios in VR. We are creating an AI-powered analytics engine capturing, analysing and interpreting behavioral data and are looking to access consultancy from your researchers to help on multiple levels including - what meaningful behavioral data can be captured to help the user learn (eye-tracking, body-language, semantic, voice emotion etc.) - how can that data be automatically analysed, combined and interpreted to provide trainees with automated personalised recommendations - how could organisations what leverage that data at scale to support their strategic goals, and how should that data be presented - how could we leverage that data to improve the platform, the learning format and the content roadmap An example output would be a data capture and delivery framework for BODYSWAPS to use and implement http://bodyswaps.co Follow up information was sent via email and the Julien Denoel (Cofounder of BODYSWAP). This provided additional information about the Centre and encouraged the individual to sign up to our next webinar for more advise. The Centre also included EIRA for additional business support given the business sector. A follow up consultation was held on 27th January 2020, this involved EIRA. We agreed the requirements were most suitable for an Innovation Voucher or KTP. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Enquiry from BT |
| 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 | On 23rd June 2021 the Centre received an enquiry from Carol Fletcher, Head of Academic and Research Partnerships, Applied Research at BT. Carol emailed to express an interest in the Data Science and AI Project Placement scheme: Masters DAIV. Further information and application forms were sent via email for completion. About BT BT is the largest provider of consumer fixed-line voice and broadband services in the UK. With EE as part of BT Group, they are also the UK's largest mobile network operator. Additionally, they are one of the leading Sport Pay TV broadcasters in the UK and serve global multinational organisations with our security, cloud and networking services. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Enquiry from Beeline B2B Ltd |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | On 27th June 2021 the Centre received a Data Science and AI Project Placement: Masters DAIV application form from Bill Mansfield, CEO of Beeline B2B Ltd. Bill is an active advisory board member for the Centre and became interested in the latest scheme following the information shared by the team at the board meeting in June. About Beeline B2B Beeline B2B helps businesses thrive by leading guiding its clients to the best opportunities. Specifically targeted at B2B services for: Find new clients Prioritise business market Learn from competitors Expand client data Benchmark goals The company launched in 2021, uses active analytics to grow business. On 4th August 2021 the Centre informed the client that their project had been accepted by the approval panel. In 2021 the project was not successfully assigned to a Masters student and so Beeline was invited to reapply in the 2022 funding round. In May 2022 the project was approved for the second time and is now being advertised to the CSEE and Department of Mathematical Science Masters students ahead of commencing in September 2022. On 7th June 2022 the Centre conducted a consultation with Bill Mansfield (CEO of Beeline). The purpose of the consultation was to scope potential research projects suitable for the Data Science and AI Master Project scheme. A flash funding round launched at the start of June and Bill is looking to submit a second project for approval. On 11th June 2022, the Centre received a completed application form for the Data Science and AI Masters Project titled 'Web-scraping UK company website data to extract data about type of benefits offered to employees, and mapping that data to a structured classification of defined benefits types'. The project aims to address the following: No extensive database currently exists for employee benefits by company in the UK. For example, with regards to insurance benefits (eg employer provided life insurance, critical illness or income protection), market penetration and segmentation knowledge is very limited as it is based on surveys or on highly aggregated summary data from insurance providers. Such a database (even if it initially covered only a small proportion of employers in the UK) could be of huge academic, societal and commercial value, for example in: - Equality/'levelling up' - employee benefits are offered highly differentially by employers, and occupations where they are not offered may compound inequalities already evident by societal segment (eg geography) - The work could create a new database usable in conjunction with other health, wealth and well-being data, eg ISER 'Understanding Society' linked research - There is significant appetite commercially for data that could be cross-referenced against existing understanding of benefits penetration by segment (eg industry type and size), and for data at the individual employer level where benefits offering could benchmark better. The project will be reviewed at the end of the funding round. The project was successfully approved and commenced September 2022 and was completed by the student in January 2023. Beeline was pleased with the outcomes and hopes to use them to inform its use of data across their organisation. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Enquiry from Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust |
| 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 | On 17th June 2021 the Centre received an enquiry from Salil Parkar, Therapy Lead for the Adult Specialist Rehabilitation Devision of Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. They contacted the Centre to request an application form for the Data Science and AI Project Placement: Masters DAIV programme. No further details about the nature of the project or organisation were given at this time. The enquiry resulted from earlier engagement with the Centre's contact Andrew Bateman, Reader in Rehabilitation, Director, NIHR East of England Research Design Service, Head of Interdisciplinary Research and Practice Division, School of Health and Social Care, University of Essex. Further information along with application forms were supplied for completion if relevant. 25.6.21 - The Centre received the full application form with a project focused on safer staffing in the NHS. This innovative data research aims to develop a series of projections regarding patient outcomes, accounting for their length of stay, staffing levels, and staff skill mix. Using these projections, safe staff levels can be identified. These projections and associated learning will then inform a Business Case to the Trust for the development of a centralized safer staff dashboard tool 4.8.21 - The Centre informed the client that their project was accepted by the approval panel and will proceed to the next phase of the scheme. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Enquiry from Birmingham Council |
| 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 | On 21st February 2020 the Centre engaged with Stephen Booth of Birmingham City Council (Technical Business & Data Analyst). This enquiry resulted from Stephen attending a webinar delivered earlier in the month in which we discussed DAIVs. Stephen has invited the Centre to present to their team and is interested in completing an EOI for one or more of their data projects. As a result of the email contact to date, Stephen and is colleagues are now attending the regional analyst network (organised via Jason Davies, West Midlands Police/TfWM). The Centre plans to meet with the council whilst in the area in March 2020. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Enquiry from Blueberry Marketing Solutions |
| 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 | On 27th August 2020 the Centre received an enquiry from Nathan Topping of BlueBerry Marketing Solutions Ltd. Nathan had attended a webinar earlier in the month on how to conduct a data audit. During this webinar (delivered by the Centre), we discussed other ways to benefit from the support provided. As a result of this, Nathan sent a follow up email to the team to find out more about the DAIV scheme and how to apply. Nathan was provided with additional information and encouraged to join the DAIV information webinar taking place in September 2020. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Enquiry from Bradford Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | On 18th September 2020 the Centre received an enquiry from Amanda Seims of Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust who expressed an interest in the DAIV scheme. She reported ' I am a Senior Research Fellow within the Join Us: Move, Play team (one of Sport England's 12 local delivery pilots across England). JU:MP is taking a place-based, whole systems approach to increasing children's physical activity. We have a team of researchers working on the project but have a vast amount of data and limited capacity to analyse it all. For example, we have been collecting data on park usage (using the 'SOPARC' tool) and haven't been able to analyse that yet'. Amanda is looking for support and ideas on how to use this data effectively. Follow up information was provided and a consultation offered. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Enquiry from Braintree District Council |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | In March 2020 Jonathan Lagden of Braintree District Council, contacted the Centre to enquire about the data analytics support available. This contact resulted from a webinar earlier in the year during which the Centre presented on the grant-funded data analytics projects and application process for the DAIVs. Follow up emails were exchanged and a consultation booked for May 2020. Due to COVID19 the virtual consultation was cancelled so that the cancel could concentrate on key operational matters. The council was engaged to join our free webinars coming up later in the month and to re-engage once they are ready to proceed with the consultation. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Enquiry from Brainwave |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | On 14th June 2021 the Centre received an enquiry from Nicky Evans of Brain Wave. Nicky has previously attended a Centre event and was aware of the support provided. Nicky saw recent adverts regarding the new Data Science and AI Project Placement scheme and requested an application form. Further information and application forms were sent for completion. On 21st June 2021 the Centre received a full completed application form for the project which will be submitted to the approval panel at the end of the month. On 4th August 2021 the Centre informed the client that the approval panel would like additional information regarding the data element of the proposed project in order to make a final decision. On 20th August 2021 the Centre informed the client that following the submission of additional information, the project has been approved for delivery. In September 2021, the Centre was informed by Nicky that due to changes within their organisation they are unable to proceed with the placement as they had concerns over capacity to support the Masters student. They would like to proceed in the future. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Enquiry from Brainwave Charity |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | On 20th April 2020 Nicky Evans of Brainwave charity contacted the Centre to re-engage. Nicky first met the Centre during a Community 360 presentation to charities across Essex. Nicky expressed an interest in learning more about the data analytics support available to her charity. An appointment was offered for the next Data Consultation Clinic on 4th May 2020. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Enquiry from Brentwood and Basildon CCG on behalf of Mid and South Essex Health and Care Partnership (HCP) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | On 24th June 2020, the Centre received an enquiry from Emma Timpson of Basildon and Brentwood CCG. Emma missed the webinar covering the DAIV and wider support we provide. Emma would like to find out more about the scheme and the grant funded data analytics support available. Follow up information was provided and a virtual consultation offered. Emma was also encouraged to register for our upcoming webinars to widen their internal data analytics awareness. Consultation completed on 1st July 2020, Sunil Gupta and Emma Timpson in attendance from the CCG. Feedback was very positive and the stakeholders felt well supported and interested in the work of the Centre. EOI submitted on 2nd July 2020. On 8th July 2020 the client was informed that their EOI was approved. They were sent the full DAIV application for completion. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Enquiry from Broxbourne Council |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | On 23rd January 2020 the Centre received an enquiry from Melanie Miller of Broxbourne Council. This enquiry resulted from James Wilkinson of the Digital Skills Partnership. Follow up information was sent via email and Melanie was encouraged to register for the next webinar to find out more about DAIVs. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Enquiry from Bunmi Banjo |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | On 17th June 2021 the Centre received an enquiry from Bunmi Banjo. They contacted the Centre to request an application form for the Data Science and AI Project Placement: Masters DAIV programme. No further details were given at this time and it looks likely that the individual is expressing an interest as a Masters student. Further information along with application forms were supplied for completion if relevant. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Enquiry from Business Woman's Network |
| 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 | Following an email regarding the Centre's event earlier in 2019, Mandie Holgate (Business Woman's Network) contacted the Centre again on 16th December 2019 to invite the Centre to present at the April 2020 networking event. A short bio and Centre information was provided (as requested). Further details about the event are being confirmed. The event will be an opportunity to reach an audience of business woman based across Essex, al of whom have an interest in optmising their business practices throrugh the use of data analytics and research. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Enquiry from CHS Services |
| 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 | On 24th February 2020, the Centre received an enquiry from Chris Maxwell (CIO of CHS Services). He reported: 'I was reading on https://www.essex.ac.uk/centres-and-institutes/business-and-local-government-data/data-analytics-innovation-vouchers about the opportunity for Data Analytics Innovation Vouchers. I wanted to put forward our case for consideration. We are an engineering consultancy and we offer a number of engineering services to large infrastructure facilities, mainly airports & logistics centres. What is of interest in relation to DAIVs if that we have just released a wireless version of our IOT cloud monitoring solution, with this solution we offer over 70+ different types of sensors and have deployments that are collecting significant amounts of data per day, for example we installed our solution at Perth airport just recently in Australia's and this collects over 30,000 data points per day across various sensors. This is designed to improve maintenance efficiency and lower maintenance costs by pre-determining early warning signs of failure and failure modes and prevent breakdown/system failure during live operation. We do some trending and analysis on the data and would be keen to look as to how we would further improve a predictive service. We also have sensors installed monitoring equipment at Heathrow Airport, KNAPP and Newcastle Airport as an example of existing installations.' The Centre attempted to call CHS Services to discuss the enquiry in more detail however they were unable to take the call. A follow up email was sent providing further information about the centre and wider support provided as well as upcoming engagement opportunities. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Enquiry from Carers First |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | On 16th January 2020, Karen Johnson contacted the Centre to express an interest in the DAIV scheme. Karen had engaged with the Centre in 2019, having attended our event and participated in a data consultation clinic. During 2019, the Centre advised that the charity (Carers First) was not ready for a DAIV due to inadequate data and formatting issues. Karen made contact again to express an interest in round two of DAIV applications as she feels her data collection is now more robust. Karen became aware of the opportunity to collaborate with the Centre following an advert in BEST Growth Hub ad. Emailed with further information and recommended webinar. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Enquiry from Chaps Mens Health |
| 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 | On 3rd June 2021 the Centre received contact from Chris and Celine of Chaps Mens Health. A long supporter of the Centre who has engaged in previous training, workshops and events, Chris Booth (CEO of Chaps Mens Health) was interested in finding out more about the Data Science and AI Project PLacement scheme which launched earlier in the week. They are a national Prostate Cancer (and men's health) charity with connections across the world. Their work and data collection are being used to influence the national policy on prostate cancer screening in the UK. https://www.chaps.uk.com/ As well as their own prostate cancer and overall men's health data, they also have access to national data sets from their partner charities. Chris reported that they are working on a draft Synopsis on the PCa Screening Project which is set to become a National demonstration Project. Currently, they have a loose link with Vincent Gnanapragasam at Cambridge Uni and a strong link with the Depts. of Epidemiology and with Health Economics at Manchester University. Chaps have a Zoom set up for either 23rd or 30th June with Manchester to discuss this further but the emphasis will be on examining the GFCT database for genetic links to PCa and looking further at the men at high risk for PCa that our own Project identifies. Because they believe their existing project will throw up other opportunities for R & D within a unique national healthcare demonstration project. A conference call was booked with the team for later in June to discuss all the options available to them. 8.6.21 - consultation completed with the Centre to discuss potential research projects. Following further engagement with Chaps Mens Health throughout 2022, the Centre facilitated a consultation with Chris to explore collaborative research. As a result of the consultation Chaps Mens Health submitted a project for the Data Science and AI Masters Project 2022. The project will be reviewed by the approval panel in June 2022. In the meantime, Chaps Mens Health, the Centre and the Institute of Public Health and Wellbeing are planning to meet to explore Challenge Lab potentials and wider collaborative research outside of the Masters Student project referenced above. In September 2022 the Data Science and AI Masters project commenced. This project successfully combined the expertise of the Centre's Senior Research Officers and the Dept of Mathematical Sciences Masters student to deliver a data analytics project focused on prostate cancer screening protocols within the charity and its partners. In February 2023, the project was completed. The CEO of Chaps Men's Health reported that the outcome was beneficial to their organisation and also shed light on improvements required in their data collection methods used to date. Using this knowledge, they hope to implement a more thorough and relevant data strategy to enhance their work and charity mission of changing national commissioning on prostate cancer screening in the UK. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Enquiry from Christiana Dankwa |
| 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 | On 24th June 2020, the Centre received an enquiry from Christiana Dankwa. She attended the information webinar on communicating risk and was interested finding out more about the DAIV process. In particular Christiana stated: Background: freelance auditor, independent researcher, with a limited exposure to programming languages (R, Python). Research area: financial profiles and practices of ethical businesses. Task: I would like to extract data from Pdfs and Word documents into a spreadsheet. Characteristics of the documents: - May be "born digital" or scanned from hard copies (so may require computer vision expertise), though it is likely they will all be born digital if I select recent documents; - Data is in a structured format i.e. a standard form is used by all the organisations (NB: the standard form changed about a year ago, so there are essential to reference templates). - Minimum of 300 documents would need to be accessed. Timing: Ideally, I would like to conduct my analysis in early autumn e.g. Sept 2020. Questions 1) Can I confirm that I can only apply for support as an organisation e.g. a Company, Charity, Public Body) i.e. one not apply as an individual? 2) If I received help, would the code be shared with me and could that code be made available by me on e.g. Github? NB: I will probably be sharing my analysis code on Github so that other people can do a similar analysis on organisations I haven't scoped into my research. 3) Will there be any future restrictions on me selling my analytic research if that research only came about as a result of your help at the "data extraction" stage? Follow up support was given answering the points raised. She was also encouraged to register for the upcoming webinars to widen data analytics expertise. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Enquiry from Citizens Advice Tendring |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | On 27th June 2022 Emma Funnell, Business Support Manager, Citizens Advice Tendring submitted a Data Science and AI Masters Project application titled: Phone Data Analysis Project. The project aims to enhance knowledge of their new phone service system and how well it supports clients. The hope is that the analysis will enable Citizen Advice Tendring to better understand data which will then aid to implement further efficiencies, reporting and perhaps cost up system improvements with the overall end outcome of improving client experience and outcomes when using the service. The application will be reviewed by the panel at the end of the funding round. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Enquiry from Comic Relief |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | On 25th June 2020 the Centre received an enquiry from Catherine Fitzgerald of Comic Relief. Catherine is seeking to commission or partner with the Centre to conduct data analysis in particular, to commission some researcher(s) to conduct a pilot study, working with their grant partners, on mapping and analysing local funding -ecosystems for specialist, small-medium sized VAWG service providers. Catherine came across your centre and, as collating and analysing financial data of funding flows for domestic violence/gender-based violence services is a big part of the research pilot, she wondered whether the centre might be interested in working with us in some way on the research, either now or later down the line? The Centre sent follow up information regarding the support available and how we can partner moving forward. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Enquiry from Commissioner for Skills Development: Essex County Council |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The Centre received an enquiry from Hannah Kopel Commissioner for Skills Development at Essex County Council. She attended the information webinar on DAIVs delivered on 10th June 2020 and made contact with the Centre straight away. Hannah would like to arrange a virtual consultation to discuss her project further. The consultation was completed virtually, providing Hannah and her colleague support and advice. Following the completion of the consultation, the Centre received a formal Expression of Interest for a DAIV. This was sent to the directors for approval on 18th June 2020. On 8th July 2020 the EOI was approved and the client was invited to submit a full application in order to benefit from the grant funded data analytics we provide. The Data Analytics Innovation Voucher (DAIV) application has been approved and the formal offer letter has been sent to the client and a Senior Research Officer has been assigned to work on the DAIV. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Enquiry from Community 360 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | On 15th June 2020 the Centre continued its engagement with Community 360 by scoping a potential research opportunity to look at data in light of the third sector involvement in COVID-19. Louise Willshire of Community 360 was keen to progress this opportunity. Application forms for the Bounce back from COVID-19: Flash funding round of DAIVs were sent for completion and support offered. The email engagement was also used as an opportunity to highlight the upcoming webinars which will be of interest to Community 360 and its members. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Enquiry from Community 360 and Essex Wildlife Trust |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | On 30th December 2019 the Centre responded to and enquiry from Community 360 and Essex Wildlife Trust. Louise Willsher (Head of Projects) contacted the Centre to enquire if one of their newer projects would be suitable for a DAIV. The email read 'How are you? I am wondering if you can help me. I am working with Essex Wildlife Trust to deliver a programme of forest school activity. We are very keen to see if the project could be externally evaluated if sessions are run in the future. Do you think this is something the University could help with and also whether it would be eligible as a project for data vouchers?' Follow up support was provided regarding the process for applying, data required etc. This is part of the Centre's ongoing engagement with the third sector and demonstrates how the Centre has become the 'go to' for data analytics and research support. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Enquiry from Creative Quills |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | On 11th September 2020 the Centre received an enquiry from Tom Broome of Creative Quills. Tom expressed an interest in the DAIV scheme and would like to learn more about how his data can be better used in order to support their future business as well as widen best practice for the creative industry. Follow up information was sent via email and a consultation offered. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Enquiry from Cronin Ltd |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | On 20th November 2019 the centre received a referral from the BEST Growth Hub. One of the SMEs they support requires data analytics guidance and is interested in the DAIV as an avenue of support. Gerald Cronin of Cronin Ltd has the following need: "Client does not know how to use the data that he holds and would like support and training on this. He has seen a drastic drop in his turnover over this past year and would like to research why this has happened." A follow up email was sent with information about the centre and the offer of a consultation to discuss in more detail. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Enquiry from Darwin Recruitment |
| 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 | On 1st June 2021 the Centre received an enquiry from Adam Drew, Chief Financial Officer at Darwin Recruitment. Adam was interested in applying for the Data Science and AI Project Placements: The Masters DAIV. Further information and the application forms were sent for completion. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Enquiry from Data Fuel Ltd |
| 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 | On 23rd April 2020, the Centre received a referral from BEST Growth Hub for Data Fuel Ltd. This local SME required support with understanding the true potential of the business data they hold. Damian Philip (of Data Fuel) was contacted by the Centre and offered support. Damian was encouraged to register for the free virtual workshops taking place in May as well as the Data Consultation Clinic to explore future partnership in more detail and to learn from the Centre's expertise. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Enquiry from Digital Flow Planning |
| 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 | On 18th February 2022, the Centre received an application form from Warren Betts of Digital Flow Planning Ltd. Warren submitted an application form outlining a Data Science and AI Masters Project titled Connected Construction Data. The project aims to reduce or remove paper-based reporting by creating dynamic dashboards. The application forms will be reviewed at the end of the funding round for approval by the panel. In May 2022 the faculty leads for the Data Science and AI Masters Project scheme met. The heads of faculty form the decision panel for approving projects during this funding round. The Centre informed the client that their project had not been accepted by the panel. Support was offered via email along with an invitation to engage further through other data analytics routes. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Enquiry from Digital Skills Partnership (SELEP) |
| 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 | On 22nd July 2020 David Tailor of the Digital Skills Partnership (DSP) contacted the Centre to request a consultation to discuss the use of data in understanding the current digital skills need within the south east of Essex. The contact was formed as the Centre is also a member of the DSP and spoke at a recent event organised by the group. In particular: Analysis of the area (results will be used to shape a programme of support to stimulate economic growth in the south east) The scale of the challenge across the SE as a whole as well as in the individual counties · The types of digital skills needed - admin, marketing, finance, facilities management, recruitment, IT, logistics · Sectors most in need of support - e.g. retail, leisure, construction, manufacturing, charities · Age range of audiences we will need to prioritise - from school leavers through to older business owners · Size of enterprise - from pre-start/start-ups and micro businesses needing basic digital skills training through to larger businesses requiring retraining programmes for staff · Best way of testing people's digital knowledge · How to reach the people who 'don't know what they don't know' A follow up consultation was booked to explore areas of collaboration in the future. On 28th July 2020 the centre conducted a virtual consultation was conducted. This was an opportunity to discuss how the Centre can support DSP and its stakeholders in data analytics moving forward. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Enquiry from Digital Technology Labs |
| 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 | Following a referral from BEST Growth Hub in August 2019, Kevin Gordon (director of Digital Technology Labs) maintained engagement with the Centre. On 4th December 2019, Kevin re-engaged with the Centre to enquire if any new opportunities have arisen including free training/workshops/analytics support. A further follow up email was sent on 2nd January 2020. This included a holding statement and encouragement to follow us on social media in order to avoid missing out on new opportunities as soon as they go live. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Enquiry from East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | On 16th June 2021 the Centre received a new enquiry from Dr Hugo Herrera (AFORS) Head of Analytics at East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust. Having seen the new Data Science and AI Project Placement scheme, Dr Hugo Herrera was interested in applying for a Masters DAIV. Further information was provided via email along with the application forms for completion. 18th June 2021 - Masters DAIV application form completed and returned to the Centre for approval. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Enquiry from East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust (ESNEFT) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | On 6th April 2021 the Centre received an enquiry from Frances Farnworth, Head of Research and Development-Strategy, Research and Innovation at East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust. The enquiry resulted from contact with the Centre's researcher who delivered recent training. ESNEFT are interested in collaborating with the Centre in order to explore data analytics projects. A consultation has been booked for 17th May 2021. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Enquiry from East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust (ESNEFT) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | On 7th July 2021 the Centre received an enquiry from Elizabeth Gray, Innovation Funding Facilitator - Strategy, Research and Innovation at East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust. Elizabeth expressed an interest in the Data Science and AI Project Placements: Masters DAIV scheme. Although the deadline for project submissions has now passed, the director of the Centre agreed to accept a late submission from this stakeholder. The project will be for the HR department. They have identified a need for support within the HR teams to automate a number of processes which would free up time to support recruitment and retention at both Colchester and Ipswich Hospitals. The application forms were sent to Elizabeth for completion along with support via email. Elizabeth felt the deadline could not be met. 20.8.21- a consultation was conducted with Alex Royan and Hugo Herrera of ESNEFT to explore further projects for collaborative research. Centre Deputy Director and Senior Research Officer were present. Discussions focused on population health, barriers to accessing services, stratifying risk for development of conditions using demographic data to target services and work more closely with the community, understanding cancellation patterns and risks, surgery data when organising schedule to improve efficiencies and time management (predicting time for surgery based on health data/demographic data) to use resources and staffing more effectively. Other topics included managing waiting lists to reduce complications and prioritisation factors, time availability/slotting capacity, creating a chatbot for reports, bookings and Power BI. Hugo also spoke about the data and collective services with primary care and community services. The deputy director asked the ESNEFT to consider the projects in terms of prioritisation of challenges as well as feasibility/practicality in order to the Centre to partner and deliver one or more of the areas. Health inequalities seemed to be the priority area. After the directors meeting within ESNEFT in September, Hugo will reconnect the Centre to explore the potential of a Challenge Lab to scope the research in more detail. Hugo and Alex would liek to touch base in September to follow on the discussions. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Enquiry from East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | On 16th June 2021 the Centre received an enquiry from Kate Dick, Professional Lead Physiotherapist, East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust. The enquiry resulted from the new Data Science and AI Project Placement scheme which launched earlier in the month. Kate is interested in benefiting from a Masters student completing a project to benefit the trust. Further information was provided via email along with the application forms. On 18th June 2021 the Centre received an application form from Elaine Tale, Head Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) & Podiatry Clinical and Operational lead & Orthotics Services Manager. The application was submit to the approval panel in June 2021. On 4th August 2021 the Centre contacted Elaine to inform her that the panel had rejected her application as it did not match the technical requirements of an AI/data science related scheme. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Enquiry from Ecliptic Tech |
| 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 | On 21st June 2021 the Centre received an enquiry from Angela Iles of Ecliptic Tech who has been engaging with Prof. Maria Fasli regarding future collaborative research. Angela is interested in the Data Science and AI Project Placement scheme. Further information was sent along with the application forms for completion. 22.6.21 - The Centre received an application form for the Data Science and AI Project Placement scheme. This will be submitted to the approval board at the end of the funding round. About Ecliptic Tech Ecliptic employs the latest technology platforms, analytics and artificial intelligence to build and deliver compliant and innovative solutions extremely quickly. In due course Ecliptic will also launch its Innovation Lab, a drop-in, collaborative space staffed by its experts plus PHD and MBA graduates in partnership with a leading university. 4.8.21 - The Centre contacted the client to inform them that the approval panel had accepted their project for the Data Science and AI Project Placement scheme. Further feedback was provided with next steps. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Enquiry from Edge Digital |
| 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 | On 31st July 2020 the Centre received an enquiry from Steven Barr of Edge Digital. Successful Mums recommended the Centre as a good contact and introduced Steven to the outreach officer. As members of the Digital Skills Partnership there was an immediate synergy. Follow up emails were exchanged and Steven was encouraged to sign up to the webinars throughout the year as well as engage with the Centre via social media. Steven was also informed about the DAIVs and how to apply. On 3rd August 2020 the Centre continued this engagement referring Steven to the wider University of Essex REO for support as manufacturing is not a sector of interest to the Centre's directors. Steven reported 'EDGE Digital Manufacturing. We are a diverse team working with manufacturing companies around the UK, helping them to adopt data and digital technologies to deliver strong ROI. All our employees and partners are highly experienced in manufacturing, engineering, technology, customer services, finance, skills and leadership - key cross-business interests relating to data & digital. We specialise in business strategy and roadmapping of adoption of data & digital, and we continue to support customers through their business transformation to maximise the impact of their investment in tech and people. We work with experts in particular technologies including vendors, trainers and funders. The attached magazine article showcases some of our work with SME manufacturers in the north west, in association with the Made Smarter pilot project funded by Department for BEIS. We are responsible for two other government-funded projects operating nationally. And we work with companies large and small on a commercial basis. We are fortunate to have worked with around 50 manufacturing businesses in the past two years, helping them to be more resilient to market challenges and to be more competitive. I look forward to making a stronger connection with University of Essex through the Digital Skills Partnership SE and through wider University expertise in data & digital manufacturing, if you can point me in the right direction?' Further support was provided to ensure the organisation (and its clients) could explore combining research expertise with sector impact. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Enquiry from Epping District Council: Public Health Improvement |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | On 10th June 2020 Epping District Council contacted the Centre following their attendance at the DAIV information webinar. Fabrizio Luca Ferrari, Public Health Improvement Officer, Community, Culture & Wellbeing wanted to arrange a consultation to discuss another project they have in mind and its suitability for grant funded support from the Centre. Fabrizio completed the webinar on DAIV funding in June 2020. Following this, a virtual consultation was completed on 15th June 2020. Amir Jahangiri and Luke Abbs attended the session. The full research project was discussed including the health improvement aims. The joint health needs assessment was discussed, open source data and internal data sets required to achieve their goal. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Enquiry from Epping Forest District Council Public Health Improvement Team |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | On 2nd February 2022 the Centre received an enquiry from Epping Forest Council who expressed an interest in the Data Science and AI Masters Project scheme. Specifically, Fabrizio Luca Ferrari, Public Health Improvement Officer, Community, Culture & Wellbeing would like to explore projects using the newly acquired data that the CCG have managed to gather through the new data flow process between primary and secondary care. They would like to use this data to potentially identify what is the greatest inequality and how this affects health in Uttlesford and Epping Forest. Fabrizio was in touch with the Centre in previous years and had engaged in a consultation to discuss Data Analytics Innovation Vouchers (DAIVs) and other collaborative research avenues with the University and partners. A new consultation is pending in order to discuss new projects and the data required for an application in the 2022 funding round. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Enquiry from Essex Children's University |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | On 17th January 2020, Debbie Bennett of Children's University contacted the Centre to express an interest in the DAIV scheme. This contact was formed following Debbie's attendance at the 2019 workshops delivered by the Centre as well as the Data Consultation Clinic hosted in partnership with Community 360. The process of application was discussed and Debbie was encouraged to join the DAIV information webinar in February for more information. A follow up email was shared with additional support. On 24th June 2020 the Centre received a formal EOI for grant funded data analytics support. This was submitted to the board for approval. The board did not approve the EOI and suggested a follow up call with the senior researcher officers to explore if they hold text data that may be useful for future projects. The EOI was declined by the Centre's director. However the Centre was able to offer a follow up consultation for one to one support whilst shaping the data strategy and explore ways forward. On 17th July 2020, the Centre delivered the follow up consultation with Debbie Bennett. The session was very well received and Debbie was keen to continue engaging with the Centre in the future. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Enquiry from Essex County Council |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | On 8th November 2019 the centre received an enquiry from Adrian Powell (Assistant Project Manager) who is working on a pilot to launch a new App for social care workers. The project is designed to save time and travel by accessing and updating case notes remotely. They are keen to have independent tracking and measurement of the benefits achieved by using the App during the piloting phase. Follow up emails have been sent in order to arrange a discussion and to explore the opportunity in more detail. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Enquiry from Essex County Council - Skills Development |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | On 6th January 2020, the Centre received a LinkedIn message from Hassan Shami (Essex County Council Skills Development Team). Hassan had met the Centre at Tendring4Growth event in 2019 and was keen to find out more about the data analytics expertise provided. Follow up emails were exchanged and used as an opportunity to promote the up and coming webinar. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Enquiry from Essex Dog Training Agility & Obedience Club |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | On 2nd August 2021 the Centre received a referral from BEST Growth Hub for Essex Dog Training Agility & Obedience Club. The CEO Emma Frost was interested in accessing support regarding data protection as she sets up a franchise. Further information and support was provided via email and included providing access to the online resources and webinars recordings on YouTube. Details of wider data analytics research were also supplied with an emphasis on the upcoming Data Analytics Innovation Vouchers and Data Science and AI Project Placement schemes. The referral from BEST Growth Hub is just one example of how the Centre works closely with council bodies and business support units to enable local economic growth through the effective use of research and data. . |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Enquiry from Essex Highways |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | On 26th November 2019 the centre received an enquiry from Essex Highways who were referred from Emma Wakeling (EIRA). The organisation is collecting data and is not harvesting its full potential. A follow up email was sent on 27th November 2019 with further information about the centre and its work. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Enquiry from Evewright Studios |
| 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 | On 30th January 2020 the Centre received an enquiry from Ionie Richards of EveWright Studios regarding the GDPR training and other support available for her organisation. This contact was formed as a result of Bridget Tighe (Community 360). Further information was provided and Ionie was encouraged to register for one or more of the events as well as informed of our wider work. Attended webinar in 2020 regarding DAIVs. Follow up call and submission of EOI sent to the director of the Centre on 17th March 2020. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Enquiry from Fidsy |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Following a referral on 27th January 2020 from BEST Growth Hub, the Centre undertook a conference call with Yigit Erol of Fidsy. Yigit is looking to create a piece of software/analytics approach for his customers to gain greater insight. Yigit was looking for grant funded consultancy support for a proof of concept/feasibility style project. Yigit was referred to EIRA for follow up and support as the project better aligns to EIRA capabilities. Yigt was also encouraged to join the Centre's webinar to find out more about its work. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Enquiry from Footprint Digital |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | On 4th December 2019 the Centre received an enquiry from Tom Bowden of Footprint Digital. He expressed an interest in the DAIV scheme. This awareness had arisen from involvement at the Centre's workshop earlier in 2019. A follow up email was sent on 31st December 2019 offering a telephone or face to face appointment. The date for which has yet to be confirmed. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Enquiry from Forest Recycling Project |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | On 13th June 2021, the Centre received an enquiry from Alison Griffin of Forest Recycling Project. The enquiry resulted from the Centre's recent adverts regarding the new Data Science and AI Project Placement scheme. Forest Recycling Project is seeking novel ways to measure the impact of their initiatives on environmental and sustainability markers. Further information about the scheme was provided via email along with the application form for completion. About the scheme: At Forest Recycling Project (FRP) they work to promote a greener, more inclusive Waltham Forest. FRP main operational area is reclaiming, repurposing and affordably reselling waste material that would otherwise fill and pollute local landfill sites. The three products recycled are paint, scaffolding wood and fabrics. They believe that social and environmental challenges go hand in hand and volunteering is at the heart of all activities. 1.7.21 - Alison confirmed she would like to submit the application form and emphasised the desire to collaborate with the Centre, being open to innovative ideas and analytics expertise to amend the scope of the project accordingly. Data Science and AI Project Placement: Masters DAIV application submitted. On 3rd August 2021 the Centre contacted the organisation with the directors decision on the application submitted as part of the Masters DAIV scheme. The Centre has requested additional information in order to make final decision. 20.8.21 - The Centre directors spoke to the organisation regarding data available. The final decision was to put the project on hold. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Enquiry from Garon Park CiC |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | On 8th June 2020 the Centre received an enquiry from Clive Shiret of Garon Park CiC. The enquiry resulted following Clive's recent attendance at the workshop delivered by the Centre (Charity Data 101: Creating a data strategy). Clive was interested to find out more about the DAIV scheme and how to apply. The Centre encouraged Clive to register for the upcoming webinars to find out more and to continue learning from the Centre's expertise via the scheduled virtual workshops during 2020-21. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Enquiry from Garon Park Community Interest Company |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | On 25th June 2020 the Centre received an enquiry from Clive Shiret of Garon Park CiC. Clive had attended a recent workshop delivered by the Centre (Charity Data 101). This inspired Clive to review his approach to data analysis and enquiry about the DAIV support available. Clive reported: 'We started the whole project with a consultant led GAP analysis (attached) and community consultations, which led us to our current place in time. Data will be extremely important to us moving forward and part of our plan is that member organisations have to set targets appropriate to the use of our facilities, which we can help them collect and collate ready for an annual report to see how focused the facility is at providing the types of outcome that are sought. Obviously the data is not going to all be about hard facts and I am sure we are going to need a framework to work from with the different organisations - by way of example we are looking to local health practises for social perscriptioning, a whole new area for mental wellbeing. Our kind of facilities find it notoriously difficult to attract people from the most deprived areas and we are forming links with local organisations and groups to populate the facilities they played a role in shaping. Our aim is to form an evidence based MEL system with base line eligibility for the different groups to form a model of best practise which we can use to organise and drive policy. In this way our user groups will be able to access the model easily for their own needs to effectively plan outcomes.' A follow up email was sent providing further support and offering a virtual consultation to discuss his needs in more detail. EOI submitted and virtual consultation completed 2nd July 2020 to provide verbal support and advice on data analytics. The EOI was declined by the directors and so was referred onto the wider University of Essex and student placement team for support on 8th July 2020. A follow up consultation was conducted on 23rd July 2020 providing support with shaping their data strategy. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Enquiry from Gerald McDonald & Company Ltd |
| 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 | On 22nd October 2019 the centre received a referral from BEST Growth Hub. The company had an enquiry relating to business data and how best they can optimize their practices. This included: Missed Sales a. Very few of our 430 live customers send us forecasts or engage in bulk contracts that can be called off during the year. b. We therefore do not realise when customers slow up or stop buying certain products from us. c. Turn Over may not change or may actually increase but we do not know when or why a customer has stopped buying a certain product. 2. Re-ordering analysis. a. In many cases we are sole suppliers to customers. b. We on the other hand, need to place contracts with suppliers to secure supplies of nearly all items we sell. c. Without customer forecasts (See 1a) and with delivery times sometimes 90 days away many customers rely on us to have their stock available when they want. d. We have re-ordering systems that rely on past performance data but there are still areas of re-ordering that make us exposed to stock out scenarios. e. We have a lot of data but do not have the skill to automatically reduce it down to a few lines of items that need urgent replenishment. 3. Cash Flow. a. We need an independent view on our cash flow reporting and whether we can make it more meaningful to non accountants. 4. Delivery and Supply performance a. We have a lot of data on deliveries out and deliveries in and need to get meaningful reports about our performance to supply customers and our suppliers' performance in supplying us. 5. ERP, CRM, WMS advice. a. ERP. We have been with our current system suppliers for 15 years. Upgrades are done regularly but now with a Japanese office, we need a multilingual system that is more in tune with large customers. b. CRM. We currently have a Contact Manager system that is 22 years old and has not been upgraded. It's time we changed and incorporated this system with the ERP. c. WMS (Warehouse Management System) Our current ERP has a WMS module but does not suit us because stock in units and sell in Kilos. A follow up email was sent with further advise and information about the centre. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Enquiry from Gladstan Rajanbabu |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | On 17th June 2021 the Centre received an enquiry from Gladstan Rajanbabu. They contacted the Centre to request an application form for the Data Science and AI Project Placement: Masters DAIV programme. No further details about the nature of the project or organisation were given at this time and it looks likely that the individual is expressing an interest as a Masters student. Further information along with application forms were supplied for completion if relevant. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Enquiry from Gugulethu Mashava |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | On 21st June 2021 the Centre received an enquiry from Gugulethu Mashava. They contacted the Centre to request an application form for the Data Science and AI Project Placement: Masters DAIV programme. No further details about the nature of the project or organisation were given at this time and it looks likely that the individual is expressing an interest as a Masters student. Further information along with application forms were supplied for completion if relevant. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Enquiry from HDS Personnel |
| 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 | On 28th September 2020, the Centre received a referral from the BEST Growth Hub regarding Darren Hilton of HDS Personnel. No information was given at the point of referral. The centre sent a follow up email to Darren offering him support and advice as well as encouraging him to sign up to the webinar series to bridge data analytics skills gap and enhance his knowledge. Darren was also provided with information about the DAIV scheme and how to apply. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Enquiry from HO Consulting |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | On 9th November 2021 the Centre engaged with Rob Harvey of H & O Consulting who was referred by BEST Growth Hub due to their data needs. H&O consulting is an approved inspector for private building control companies. They have significant data on building standards, materials used and building design that they would like to be able to utilise more effectively both internally as well as within the sector commercially. A consultation was offered in order to provide further guidance on the o |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Enquiry from Halstead 21st Century |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | On 30th January 2020 the Centre received an enquiry from Jane Giffould of Halstead 21st Century regarding training. The enquiry had resulted from information provided by Community 360 as part of their work in promoting our opportunities available to charities. Further information was provided by email on 3rd February 2020. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Enquiry from Health Education East of England |
| 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 | Following an email promoting the Centre's next webinar, Saffron Rolph-Wills, East of England Workforce Transformation Team contacted the Centre on 17th January 2020 to express an interest in the work of the Centre and to find out more about the project. Follow up information was provided and Saffron wishes to pass on the information to colleagues across Health Education England. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Enquiry from Health Education England |
| 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 | On 27th January 2020 the Centre received an enquiry from Graham Seward Associate Workforce Transformation Lead for Health Education England. The enquiry resulted from early contact via Saffron Rolph Wills. Graham requested a consultation with the Centre to explore partnership working in 2020. A number of dates for appointments were offered and we are awaiting Graham to confirm the most suitable date/time. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Enquiry from Healthwatch Suffolk |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | On 25th June 2021 the Centre received an enquiry from Luke Bacon, Research Officer of Healthwatch Suffolk. Luke was interested in the Data Science and AI Project Placements scheme: Masters DAIV. Further information and the application forms were sent via email for completion. About Healthwatch Suffolk Local Healthwatches across the UK carry out a wide range of engagement and research activities to collect local peoples voices to feedback into health and care services in order to make improvements. Working closely with NHS commissioners, care providers and councils, Healthwatches are uniquely placed to both capture lived experience and constructive use it to improve service delivery. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Enquiry from Help Musicians |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | On 18th November 2019 the centre sent a follow up email to Ellie Moore of Help Musicians. The referral came from EIRA via Emma Wakeling. Follow up information included the DAIV, training and webinar opportunities. The email also encouraged the charity to follow us online in order to keep up to date with our research. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Enquiry from Home Start Essex |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | On 8th June 2021 the Centre received an enquiry from Kath Byrne Fundraising Manager at Home Start Essex. The charity is interested in applying for a Data Science and AI Project Placement and has recently seen our advertisements on the scheme. Further information along with application forms were provided. On 16th June 2021 the Centre completed a virtual consultation with the Home Start to discuss the use of data to measure impact and evaluation services as part of their improvement cycle and fundraising strategy. On 21st June 2021 the Centre received two applications for potential research projects. The two primary focuses are: Project 1 Why Do Some Families Improve with Support from Home-Start Essex? Why Do Some Families Not? Project 2 Why Are Some Coordinators Better at Collecting Data? These two key themes will strengthen internal operations around data collection and use as well as external service delivery. About Home Start Essex Home-Start is a nationally and internationally recognised service with over 40 years of experience supporting families. First founded by Margaret Harrison in 1973 in Leicester, Home-Start has grown from strength to strength. You can find out more on the Home-Start UK website. 3.8.21 - the Centre informed the client that one of their projects was declined as it did not align to the scope of AI/Data Science which is required for the scheme. But the second project may be accepted subject to additional information which has been requested. 20.8.21 - additional information was supplied and the project (project 1 entitled Project 1: Why Do Some Families Improve with Support from Home-Start Essex? Why Do Some Families Not) was approved for the Masters student placement. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Enquiry from Humber LEP |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | On 10th June 2020, the Centre received an enquiry from Richard Kendall of Humber LEP following his attendance at the DAIV information webinar. Richard is interested in a DAIV to help with their COVID-19 recovery strategy. A follow up email was sent with details of how to access further support and the upcoming webinars. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Enquiry from IX Items |
| 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 | On 10th June 2022 the Centre received a completed Data Science and AI Masters Project application form from Ian Montgomery, MD of IX Items Ltd. The project proposal was titled 'Title of the project Market Price Forecasting Algorithm for Graded Stock' and aims to provide real-time marketplace information for decision making on the purchase and resale of recycled technology products. The overall outcomes include using data science to create a tool to provide real time marketplace data for pricing, ordering and market opportunities. The application form was processed and will be submitted to the approval panel at the end of the funding round (27th June 2022). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Enquiry from Ifecheluobi Ebere |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | On 18th June 2021 the Centre received an enquiry from Ifecheluobi Ebere. They contacted the Centre to request an application form for the Data Science and AI Project Placement: Masters DAIV programme. No further details were given at this time and it looks likely that the individual is expressing an interest as a Masters student. Further information along with application forms were supplied for completion if relevant. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Enquiry from Innovative Creations |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | On 8th January 2020 the Centre received an enquiry from James Brand CEO of Innovative Creations Ltd. The enquiry resulted from a referral from Jim Wilkinson (Digital Skills Partnership). James wanted to express an interest in the DAIV scheme. James was encouraged to join the next webinar covering the DAIVs and how to apply as well as provide with supporting resources. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Enquiry from Institute of Community Studies |
| 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 | On 16th February 2022, the Centre received an enquiry from Richard Harris, Associate Director of the Institute of Community Studies to express an interest in the Data Science and AI Masters Project scheme. Application forms were sent for completion and the offer of support and guidance on the services provided by the Centre and its partners. On 21st February 2022, the Centre received a completed Data Science and AI Masters Project application titled: Analysis of Community Interest Companies. The project seeks to understand the different social aims, motivations and achievements of UK community interest companies (CICs). The expected outcomes are: Segmentation of CICs into those supporting communities of place and those supporting communities of interest against the aims listed above. A consultation was booked with Richard for 28th February 2022 to discuss wider support and collaborative research opportunities. A successful consultation involved multiple partners from across the wider University of Essex. The consultation included exploring current data collection, gaps and challenges which can be addressed by partnering with the Centre. In May 2022 the faculty leads for the Data Science and AI Masters Project scheme met. The heads of faculty form the decision panel for approving projects during this funding round. The Centre informed the client that their project had been accepted by the approval panel. The project will now be advertised to Masters students and aligned to the most suitable candidate ahead of the project commencing in June or September 2022. The project commenced in September 2022 and was successfully completed in February 2023. With the support of the Centre's senior research officer and director, a high quality data research report was provided to the Institute of Community Studies. This report was well received and was the first of its kind to be produced. The results will enhance the work of the organisation by enabling them to better understand the social aims and success of UK community interest companies (CICs). With this knowledge, the organisation hopes to work with partners to support CICs more effectively in achieving their goals of social good. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Enquiry from Interactive Coventry |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | On 24th June 2021 the Centre received an enquiry from Dr Charalampos Karyotis, Director of Research at Interactive Coventry Limited. Dr Karyotis was interested in the Data Science and AI Project Placements: Masters DAIV. The application forms were sent to the company for completion along with supporting information. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Enquiry from Into the Wylde |
| 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 | On 21st January 2020 the Centre received an email enquiry from Kathie Bishop of Into the Wylde following webinar advertising. Kathie wanted to know more about scheme. Follow up information about the Centre and the DAIV scheme was sent by email. Kathie was encouraged to join webinar for additional details. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Enquiry from Invesco UK Limited |
| 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 | On 16th February 2022 the Centre received an enquiry from Karina Korpela of Invesco UK Limited. Katrina expressed an interest in applying for the Data Science and AI Masters Project scheme. Further details were provided via email along with the application forms for completion ahead of the close date. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Enquiry from Jake Teague |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | On 20th June 2021 the Centre received an enquiry from Jake Teague. The individual contacted the Centre to request an application form for the Data Science and AI Project Placement: Masters DAIV programme. No further details about the nature of the project or organisation were given at this time and it looks likely that the individual is expressing an interest as a Masters student. Further information along with application forms were supplied for completion if relevant. The enquiry demonstrates the strong communication pathways between the Centre and stakeholders across industry and academia. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Enquiry from Jaspreet Kaur |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | On 20th June 2021 the Centre received an enquiry from Jaspreet Kaur. The individual contacted the Centre to request an application form for the Data Science and AI Project Placement: Masters DAIV programme. No further details about the nature of the project or organisation were given at this time and it looks likely that the individual is expressing an interest as a Masters student. Further information along with application forms were supplied for completion if relevant. The enquiry demonstrates the strong communication pathways between the Centre and stakeholders across industry and academia. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Enquiry from Jayani Bhatwadiya |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | On 19th June 2021 the Centre received an enquiry from Jayani Bhatwadiya. The individual contacted the Centre to request an application form for the Data Science and AI Project Placement: Masters DAIV programme. No further details about the nature of the project or organisation were given at this time and it looks likely that the individual is expressing an interest as a Masters student. Further information along with application forms were supplied for completion if relevant. The enquiry demonstrates the strong communication pathways between the Centre and stakeholders across industry and academia. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Enquiry from Jhansi Rani |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | On 17th June 2021 the Centre received an enquiry from Jhansi Rani. They contacted the Centre to request an application form for the Data Science and AI Project Placement: Masters DAIV programme. No further details about the nature of the project or organisation were given at this time and it looks likely that the individual is expressing an interest as a Masters student. Further information along with application forms were supplied for completion if relevant. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Enquiry from Kent County Council |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | On 20th May 2021 the Centre received an enquiry from Victoria Brunsdon, Performance & Analytics Manager (Projects), Kent Analytics within Kent County Council. Victoria has engaged with the Centre on Twitter and expressed her interest in our work having seen our impact with other organisations. Follow up emails were exchanged over the subsequent week and the Centre is looking to arrange a consultation in order to discuss potential partnership further. On 4th July 2021 the Centre received the training requirement forms from Victoria following an email exchange since her initial enquiry in May. The requirement form outlined the council's aims to address skills gaps in R and their desire to partner with the Centre to address these. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Enquiry from Krimabenk Patel |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | On 17th June 2021 the Centre received an enquiry from Krimabenk Patel. They contacted the Centre to request an application form for the Data Science and AI Project Placement: Masters DAIV programme. No further details about the nature of the project or organisation were given at this time and it looks likely that the individual is expressing an interest as a Masters student. Further information along with application forms were supplied for completion if relevant. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Enquiry from Lincolnshire Police |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | On 8th November 2019, Leanne Crew (Performance Data Officer) from Lincolnshire Police contacted the generic centre inbox to express an interest in having the centre deliver some data analytics training for their team. Specifically, R and data science. They anticipate 50 from across their network of data analysts. Follow up emails were sent and the centre is actively pursuing the opportunity to partner with this new stakeholder. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Enquiry from Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital NHS Foundation Trust |
| 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 | On 15th February 2022 the Centre received an enquiry from Matthew Shaw, Data Scientist at Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. Greg expressed an interest in applying for the Data Science and AI Masters Project scheme. Further details were provided via email along with the application forms for completion ahead of the close date. A consultation was also offered to support Greg and his wider network of NHS partners in collaborative research. On 17th February 2022 the Centre received completed application forms for the above scheme. The project titled: "Assessing health inequalities and unmet needs for patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) in the North-West of England aims to: Quantify the rate and treatment experiences of AF patients, according to nationally submitted healthcare datasets Explore the opportunities that statistical modelling offers to improve early detection of AF The application will be reviewed by the approval panel at the end of the funding round. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Enquiry from MDK9 Security 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 | On 3rd February 2020 the Centre received a referral from BEST Growth Hub regarding MDK9 Security Services. Daniel Berry of MDK9 Security Services has requested to be kept informed of future events including training. A follow up email was sent including details of the next webinar which focuses on how to access grant funded data analytics support. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Enquiry from Maidstone Borough Council |
| 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 | On 4th September 2020 the Centre received an enquiry from Samantha Whitehead of Maidstone Borough Council. The enquiry resulted from Samantha's colleagues Sean and Rachael Bennett who had previously been in touch with the Centre Samantha reported that she recently joined the Economic Development Team based at the Business Terrace in Maidstone. She is looking to explore data analytics opportunities to support their strategy. Follow up information was provided and Samantha was encouraged to join the DAIV webinar in September. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Enquiry from Maidstone Borough Council |
| 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 | The Centre received an enquiry from Sean Henry (Economic Growth Business Centre Coordinator) Maidstone Borough Council on 10th December 2019. Sean had visited the website and would like further information about the Centre. A follow up email was sent providing details about the Centre's work and support provided to councils. A subsequent telephone appointment was also offered to explore this further. The call will be an opportunity to promote the work of the Centre and discuss the specific needs of the council with a view to building a new partnership for collaborative research in 2020. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Enquiry from Maldon CVS |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | On 10th June 2020 the Centre received an enquiry from Catherine Kennelly of CVS Maldon. Catherine attended the information webinar delivered by the Centre and contacted the team directly to arrange a consultation. Catherine reported that they are undertaking a project with regard to the local community response have led on COVID19 to identify best practice, assess its impact on the local community and drive future change in the voluntary and statutory sector with regard to supporting the community generally and the most vulnerable in particular. They have collected a vast amount of data over the past 11 weeks and would be grateful if we could have a discussion about whether support through the DAIV funding would be appropriate. In addition, Catherine is sending out an EBulletin to memberships - over 130 voluntary organisations in the Maldon District - and requested further information on the upcoming webinars to share. All information was provided and a consultation offered. On 25th June 2020, the Centre had a virtual consultation to discuss the project in more detail. Dr Kakia Chatsiou provided further data analytics insight. We recommended that Catherine submit an expression of interest form to explore formal research opportunities. On 30th June 2020 the Centre received a formal expression of interest form from Catherine in order to apply for a DAIV. On 8th July 2020 the directors confirmed that the expression of interest was not approved for a DAIV application. As a result the organisation was referred onto the wider University of Essex REO team for support. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Enquiry from Manikanteswar Gampala |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | On 17th June 2021 the Centre received an enquiry from Manikanteswar Gampala. They contacted the Centre to request an application form for the Data Science and AI Project Placement: Masters DAIV programme. No further details about the nature of the project or organisation were given at this time and it looks likely that the individual is expressing an interest as a Masters student. Further information along with application forms were supplied for completion if relevant. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Enquiry from Maths for Life |
| 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 | On 9th March 2021 the Centre received contact from Karen McGuigan CEO of Maths for Life, a programme designed for schools and colleges; parents and home educators; charities and support groups; and other educational professionals who support students with additional learning needs. It is aimed at students for whom the standard maths national curriculum structure and timescale is unattainable. The programme offers a continually evolving, differentiated maths learning programme, that lays down solid foundations, is framed in practical understanding, and delivers the essential maths needed for life. It is aligned with the national curriculum content however prioritises the 'readiness to progress' on attainment of skill rather than time passing. The enquiry resulted from an introduction via LinkedIn due to a mutual contact Fran Boorman of Goal 17 who had previously benefited from the support provided by the Centre. The Centre provided Karen with further information about the data analytics offered by the team and scheduled a virtual consultation to discuss collaborative research opportunities. 3.8.21 Following the two projects submitted as part of the Data Science and AI Project Placement scheme: Masters DAIV. The Centre contacted Karen with the approval panel's feedback on her applications. One of the projects was declined due to lack of data whilst the other received a conditional acceptance pending additional information which is due to be submitted in August. 1.9.21 Karen was informed the data available was not sufficient for the analysis at this time. A consultation was booked with organisation and research team to discuss how best to move forward in the future. The consultation is scheduled for 17th September 2021. 17.9.21 Consultation completed with the Centre's deputy manager to discuss future research and projects that have adequate data to complete indepth analysis. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Enquiry from Matthew King |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | On 17th June 2021 the Centre received an enquiry from Matthew King. They contacted the Centre to request an application form for the Data Science and AI Project Placement: Masters DAIV programme. No further details about the nature of the project or organisation were given at this time and it looks likely that the individual is expressing an interest as a Masters student. Further information along with application forms were supplied for completion if relevant. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Enquiry from Medical Defense Society |
| 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 | On 1st August 2020 the Centre received an enquiry from Rohan Simon CEO of Medical Defense Society. He reported 'I found your details through the Growth Hub, London. A quick background to our business, we are a medical defence organisation (MDO) of which there are only 4 companies in the UK. We started 3 years ago and essentially we a membership organisation for GPs in the UK. The critical compoment of our membership is that we provide medical indemnity for GPs and legal expenses cover. So essentially cover medical malpractice claims and provide legal support for GPs when required. We have a CRM system and looking to start a project to re-vamp our system in the way that we process the data when it comes to renewals, claims handling. I would like to engage wtih the team (through use of the voucher) to see if you can provide any insights on what data should be captured, what would be the best way to record this data for future analytical work.' Rohan was sent follow up information about the Centre and how it can support Medical Defense Society in the future. He was also encouraged to register for the upcoming webinars. On 12th August 2020 the Centre completed a virtual consultation with Rohan. During the consultation the Centre's senior research officer shared many ideas for how data can be used effectively within the organisation and potential research questions suitable for the DAIV scheme. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Enquiry from Mehul Patel of consortium of General Practices in Bradford region |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | On 18th September 2020 the Centre received an enquiry from Mehul Patel a GP working at a consortium of General Practices in Bradford. Mehul expressed regret that he had been unable to attend the webinar delivered by the centre earlier that week, but would like to find out more. Mehul reported 'We are just starting out with development our data analytics process in our organisation (around 50 GP practices nationally) and so far have a skunk works team of myself and 2 students doing low level data processing / analysis mainly in Python. I was really hoping to attend the webinar to get some insights on how we can develop further and any opportunities for collaboration.' Further information was provided by email and a consultation offered. Mehul was also encouraged to visit the YouTube channel and register for upcoming webinars. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Enquiry from Mid and South Essex Health and Care Partnership |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | On 17th February 2022 the Centre reeived an application from Josie Harding - Head of Insight and Evaluation and Sophia Morris - Senior Clinical Fellow of the Mid and South Essex Health and Care Partnership. The proposed Data Science and AI Masters Project was titled: Understanding our Population at risk of Cardiovascular Disease and those vulnerable to complications in the next 5 years. It aimed to: 1. To understand the current population in Mid and South Essex vulnerable to/ have cardiovascular disease 2. To identify the risk factors related to a stroke and a heart attack that could be used as predictors. 3. To predict the number of people in Mid and South Essex likely to have a heart attack and the number of people likely to have a stroke in the next 5 years and where they are coming from. 4. To identify any health inequalities for our population with cardiovascular disease and its complications. The application will be submitted to the approval panel at the end of the funding round. In May 2022 the faculty leads for the Data Science and AI Masters Project scheme met. The heads of faculty form the decision panel for approving projects during this funding round. The Centre informed the client that their project had been accepted by the approval panel. The project will now be advertised to Masters students and aligned to the most suitable candidate ahead of the project commencing in June or September 2022. In February 2023, the Data Science and AI Masters Project was completed. Both Masters student and organisations felt valuable insight had been gained through this partnership. Josie has also enquired about subsequent rounds of grant funded data analytics research projects in 2023 where more in-depth analysis can be conducted. The outcomes of the research project supported Mid and South Essex Healthcare Partnership in addressing its core aims of understanding the population at risk of Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) and those vulnerable to complications in the next 5 years, although the Senior Research Officers involved in the project (supporting the Masters student) acknowledged further research is needed. The topic of CVD risk analysis is a growing national concern and this project has opened the door to enable additional projects to be conducted in the future - by the Centre, Institute of Public Health and Wellbeing and/or the University of Essex partners. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Enquiry from Mid and South Essex Health and Care Partnership 2 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | On 14th July 2020 Debbie Crisp of Mid and South Essex Health and Care Partnership contacted the Centre. This resulted from recent contact with Claire Hankley (of the local CCG) who recommended the Centre's support. Debbie is seeking support with survey analysis. They have completed a survey of Virtual Views Panel and also the CCG members. They have around 800 responses and would like to explore a commissioned analysis or funded in order to provide greater insight into the results. Follow up information was provided and a virtual consultation offered. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Enquiry from My Cake |
| 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 | On 24th June 2021 the Centre received an enquiry from Sarah Thelwall, Director/Founder of My Cake. Sarah was interested in the new Data Science and AI Project Placement Scheme: Masters DAIV. Application forms and further information was provided to support the application. About My Cake MyCake specialises in financial benchmarking, especially for third sector organisations. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Enquiry from My Pam |
| 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 | On 2nd June 2021 the Centre required an equiry from CEO of My Pam, Kufa Matiya. Kufa was interested in the Master student placement scheme which recently launched. MyPAM is an analytics platform that uses machine learning to enable organisations to make smarter sourcing and hiring decisions. As an award winning tech start up company, Kufa said 'As part of the next phase of our strategy we are in discussions to bring in our first 2 MVP customers and would like to look at bringing on or working with a university to support our Chief Data Scientist as we start the onboarding process and working with the MVP customers as we start to process their data and provide insights.' A consultation was offered to discuss options further and the application forms for the Masters DAIV programme were also sent. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Enquiry from NDG Artificial Intelligence Limited |
| 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 | On 7th February 2022 the Centre received an enquiry from Nigel Gittins of NDG Artificial Intelligence Limited who expressed an interest in the Data Science and AI Masters Project scheme. Nigel was signposted to the centre by the Innovate UK Edge team. Further information was provided and a consultation appointment was offered to explore wider collaborative research opportunities. NDG Artificial Intelligence Limited NDGAI specialises in cloud-based industry pioneering SaaS technology that will add significant value to your scheduling software proposition. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Enquiry from NDG Artificial Intelligence Limited |
| 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 | On 7th February 2022 the Centre received a referral from Innovate UK for NDG Artificial Intelligence Limited. Nigel Gittins, MD of NDG Artificial Intelligence Limited was interested in exploring how the Data Science and AI Masters Project scheme to enhance the company's use of data. Further details about the Centre's support and the programme was provided along with the offer to book a virtual consultation to discuss the specific details of the project Nigel has in mind. On 17th February 2022 the Centre received a completed application form with the project titled: Capacity Planning for the Homecare Sector in the UK. The projects aims to devise a prototype to tackle a subproblem related to the capacity planning of homecare companies in the UK. The application will be reviewed by the approval panel at the end of the funding round. NDG Artificial Intelligence Limited A B2B company, NDG AI artificially intelligent uses algorithms to match field-based workers to client-centric timeframes, skills, qualifications and equipment requirements, enabling organisations to determine and deliver the highest standard of field-based services to their clients anywhere in the world. In May 2022 the faculty leads for the Data Science and AI Masters Project scheme met. The heads of faculty form the decision panel for approving projects during this funding round. The Centre informed the client that their project had been accepted by the approval panel. The project will now be advertised to Masters students and aligned to the most suitable candidate ahead of the project commencing in June or September 2022. In September 2022 the project commenced. A Masters student from the Dept of Mathematics at the University of Essex was supported by their academic supervisor and a Senior Research Officer from the Centre to complete the project. Project completion in January 2023 led to further conversations around the value of AI and data science in their field as well as opportunities to collaborate further with academia in the future. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Enquiry from NHS Arden and GEM CSU |
| 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 | On 14th February 2022 the Centre recevied and enquiry from Greg Peacock, Associate Director of Strategy and Architecture at NHS Arden & GEM CSU. Having heard about the Data Science and AI Masters Project scheme, Greg submitted an application for a project titled: Understanding the cost of support against the age of a device. The aim of the project is to understand how the cost of supporting an end device changes over time to allow customers to better align equipment refresh Ivanti CMDB and Ivanti Service Manager tickets and incidents. Expected outcomes include: Integration with existing ETL and PowerBI node for reporting. A high-level understanding at what point a device starts to increase costs to support and by how much to see if there are underling trends. Allowing then drill down to device type / model as well as well as segment by customer. The application form containing the above project proposal has been submitted to the approval panel and will be reviewed at the end of the funding round. In May 2022 the faculty leads for the Data Science and AI Masters Project scheme met. The heads of faculty form the decision panel for approving projects during this funding round. The Centre informed the client that their project had not been accepted by the panel. Support was offered via email along with an invitation to engage further through other data analytics routes. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Enquiry from NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHS GGC) |
| 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 | On 17th February 2022 the Centre received a Data Science and AI Masters Project application from Heather Harrison Senior Prescribing Advisor, Central Prescribing Team at the NHS GGC. The project was titled: Workforce development data management systems. The aim of the project is to be able to collect, analyse and interpret workforce development data at a Board level to understand the impact and consequences of training and development; to identify gaps; to plan. Data on the training programmes available, staff numbers, time for completion, staff roles; enable better allocation of staff and time to provide support for training; create more satisfied staff and better staff retention. The application was submitted at the end of the funding round for approval to the panel. In May 2022 the faculty leads for the Data Science and AI Masters Project scheme met. The heads of faculty form the decision panel for approving projects during this funding round. The Centre informed the client that their project had been accepted by the approval panel. The project will now be advertised to Masters students and aligned to the most suitable candidate ahead of the project commencing in June or September 2022. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Enquiry from Numble |
| 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 | On 10th August 2020 the Centre received an enquiry from Michael Campbell of Numble. Michael contacted the Centre to express and interest in the DAIV scheme. He requested further information about the types of projects that the Centre supports as well as how to apply. Follow up emails were exchanged and a consultation offered. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Enquiry from Nurxmity Health Ltd |
| 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 | On 18th February 2022 the Centre received a Data Science and AI Masters Project application from Chisomo Mbango, Director of Nurxmity Health Ltd. Nurxmity aims be use AI for workforce management and scheduling. The expected outcomes are to enable AI to predict and forecast staff allocation based on cost centre. The application will be reviewed at the end of the funding window by the approval panel. In May 2022 the faculty leads for the Data Science and AI Masters Project scheme met. The heads of faculty form the decision panel for approving projects during this funding round. The Centre informed the client that their project had been accepted by the approval panel. The project will now be advertised to Masters students and aligned to the most suitable candidate ahead of the project commencing in June or September 2022. In December 2022 the project was successfully completed and both client and student were pleased with its outcomes. Chisomo hopes to use the outcomes of the research project to support NHS organisations across the UK and build on her Innovation Edge UK business idea. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Enquiry from OKA Behaviour |
| 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 | In spring 2022, OKA Behaviour Ltd engaged in knowledge exchange with Prof Maria Fasli. As a result of this engagement the company submitted a Data Science and AI Masters Project application which was approved in May 2022. The project titled 'Facilitating the mentoring process: A prototype matching engine for matching mentors and mentees'. The aim of this project is to develop a prototype matching engine between mentors and mentees that could be integrated as part of an online platform to enable faster, easier and more effective identification of suitable mentors and mentees and their matching. The matching engine will be using proprietary psychometrics and other data as provided by the OKA platform and the objective of the project will to explore, develop and compare a suite of matching mechanisms based on these data to identify the best matches between mentors and mentees. The OKA platform is currently collating data based on a range of psychometrics tests that are internationally recognized as valid tests measuring highly complex variables.The matching engine will take this psychometric data together with research into which factors enable constructive relationships and even more specifically mentoring relationships that thrive and have positive outcomes and provide a set of recommendations on pairs of possible mentors and mentees. During the project, different ways to match mentors and mentees will be explored and in collaboration with OKA's experts these will be evaluated. In the first instance, this prototype system is envisaged to provide recommendations which could also be accompanied with a degree of certainty or probability match: i.e. Maria matches George with probability 0.7. In the longer term, it is envisaged that these recommendations will be further refined and fined-tuned through:-Tracking the interaction between mentors and mentees once an agreement is reached to enter into this relationship and trying to ascertain how successful the match has been. This can be the topic of further research as how successful a relationship is can be measured in different ways and depends on many different factors. The approved project will be matched to Masters students within CSEE or DMS at the University of Essex, with the analytics due to commence in September 2022. In January 2023 the project was completed. As a result of the data science and AI project, the wider University of Essex has been enabled to continue its collaborative research relationship with OKA. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Enquiry from Olivine Partner |
| 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 | On 16th February 2022, the Centre received an application from Stuart Cumberland to Olivine Partners. Stuart submitted a Data Science and AI Masters Project application titled: EOT identification and marketing optimization. The objectives are to identify and optimize marketing campaigns for SMEs who are likely to take advantage of Employee Ownership Trusts (EOT). It aims to lead to the efficient marketing and engagement of clients into EOT's. The application will be reviewed at the end of the funding round in February 2022. In May 2022 the faculty leads for the Data Science and AI Masters Project scheme met. The heads of faculty form the decision panel for approving projects during this funding round. The Centre informed the client that their project had not been accepted by the panel. Support was offered via email along with an invitation to engage further through other data analytics routes. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Enquiry from Open Mind |
| 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 | On 18th August 2020 the Centre received an enquiry from Ash Dey, CEO of Open Mind. Ash had discovered the Centre's DAIV scheme via the HMRC grant support website pages. In his email to the Centre, Ash expressed that they have a clear project and support required around data visualisation, and building out dashboards based on the employee wellbeing data . He reported 'I have been exploring platforms (Qlik, Power BI, Data Studio) and have narrowed it down, but require expertise in analysing and building out the visualisations that meet a number of use cases. Previously we had some one in the team who manually interrogated the data taken from our database to produce reporting in excel, but over the this month she has had to leave and seek other employment not in Startup with more secure income. We really could do with help accelerating the development of these dashboards with some real expertise.' About OpenMind OpenMind supports workplaces (, schools and universities) across the UK create diverse, inclusive and sustainable wellbeing programmes built on human connection and community. Solving challenges HR Directors and Wellbeing leads have today around budget, time and administration and reporting. The technology platform, CARE, enables this by Connecting organisations with a large pool of wellbeing providers Administering bookings from end to end with support around internal promotion, providing regular Reporting with insightful data. All of these enabling the workplace to Evolve, spending their valuable time on ensuring they continue to listen to their people and stay inclusive in a sustainable way. Through Open Mind marketplace of national providers, they host a variety of live offerings that support workplaces with their wellbeing agendas both virtually and onsite, at a high level - Strategy & Assessment, Wellbeing Workshops (mental health, nutrition, sleep, etc), Community Activities (yoga, meditation, home workouts, creativity sessions, choirs/sing-a-longs and more) and 1-2-1 clinics. Their operating catalogue of wellbeing services covers the breadth of workplace wellbeing services working with a network of wellbeing partners across the UK. Follow up emails were exchanged offering support and advice as well as offering a consultation. A consultation was subsequently booked for 2nd September 2020. On 2nd September 2020 the Centre conducted a consultation with Ash. The consultation focused on the data around physical and mental wellbeing. Ash expressed an interest in the DAIV scheme and would like to apply. On 7th September 2020 the Centre received a formal Expression of Interest for a project exploring data on wellbeing for lorry drivers. The project is in partnership with Connect2. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Enquiry from Oxford Consultants for Social Inclusion (OCSI) |
| 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 | On 11th Febraury 2020, the Centre engaged with Kimberley Anscombe (Oxford Consultants for Social Inclusion (OCSI)) following her attendance at the DAIV webinar on 7th Febraury 2020. OCSI enquired as to whether their project would be applicable for a grant funded DAIV. She reported: We are a business working with the public sector and third sector primarily. We run bespoke consultancy projects (eg. we are the team that developed the Indices of Deprivation on behalf of the government) as well as run products such as Community Insight & Local Insight that provide instant access to local-level data aggregated to areas people care about). These work on an annual subscription basis and are used by social housing associations, local authorities and grantmakers primarily. The project we would want to work on centres around the Commercial and Corportate Ownership datasets published by Land Registry. We would want to use this data within Community Insight for the MyPatch functionality (which allows social housing providers to see which other providers are working on the patch, so that they have all the information they need to make decisions on joint initiatives, mergers etc). The data is published with multiple households recorded in a single row, which makes it difficult to get the counts of the household. We would like to apply for DAIV vouchers to support with cleaning this data & allowing a replicable method for us to be able to do so in the future. This would be for commercial gain - in that it will add value to our product and hopefully contribute to sales and renewals. However, our clients do work in the sphere of social good. Having discussed the project with the Centre manager, he felt that on this occasion it would not be applicable. The stakeholder was thanked for their interest and sign posted accordingly. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Enquiry from Pay Check Ltd |
| 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 | On 7th April 2020 Matthew Sullivan of Pay Check Ltd contacted the Centre to enquiry about the DAIV scheme and other support available to him. Matthew reported: 'We turn over ~GBP3mpa, and serve around 1,400 businesses (mostly in London, but UK-wide) with 49 FTEs. We have recently embarked on a digital transformation in the business - our largest initiative involves moving to a new payroll management system and we are 35% complete. Other initiatives in the transformation include implementing a CRM, and completely restructuring our data management systems. Additionally, we have the opportunity to begin using more sophisticated analytics to improve our value proposition to existing and prospective Clients. I have recently hired a great young CS grad who is fantastic. Unfortunately I have no thought leadership for him to refer to in order to help us move forward our goals. The above voucher scheme sounds like a perfect opportunity for us to seek expert third party advice in these respects and I would welcome the opportunity to discuss this with you.' Matthew was invited to attend the Data Consultation Clinic on 4th May 2020 to explore in more detail the support he requires and the potential for data analytics. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Enquiry from Perfect Plan Wedding |
| 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 | On 15th May 2020 the Centre received an enquiry from Funmi Williams of Perfect Plan Weddings Ltd regarding sector survey analysis as part of the launch of their new business designed to bridge a gap in the wedding industry. Funmi provided a brief report for their objectives. A follow-up email was sent with further advice and signposting to upcoming webinars that may be of interest as well as information regarding the DAIV scheme. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Enquiry from Perito Ltd |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | On 2nd June 2020 the Centre received a referral from BEST Growth Hub for Perito Ltd. James Wheeler (of Perito Ltd) was referred to the Centre for data analytics support. A follow up email was sent with details on the support available and the upcoming webinar which includes how to apply for a Data Analytics Innovation Voucher. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Enquiry from Prabhat Mishra |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | On 17th June 2021 the Centre received an enquiry from Prabhat Mishra. They contacted the Centre to request an application form for the Data Science and AI Project Placement: Masters DAIV programme. No further details about the nature of the project or organisation were given at this time and it looks likely that the individual is expressing an interest as a Masters student. Further information along with application forms were supplied for completion if relevant. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Enquiry from Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | On 19th September 2020 Shahid Sardar, Associate Director, Patient Safety, Experience & Quality at Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust contacted the Centre to request a consultation in order to discuss their data analytics needs. A consultation appointment was offered and further information about the Centre was included. 2nd March 2021 - the Centre conducted a second follow up consultation with Shahid to explore the potential research questions. A number of areas regarding patient safety and effective communication were discussed. Shahid felt materinity service national survey and feedback data would be a rich source of information and he is going to take this forward with the team and Trust board in order to submit a full EOI in the spring. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020,2021 |
| Description | Enquiry from Provide CiC |
| 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 | On 30th January 2020, Prof. Riccardo Russo, Department of Psychology, University of Essex referred Provide CiC to the Centre. John Niland CEO of Provide was sent a follow up email with further information about the Centre and offered an appointment to meet in order to explore how the Centre can help in more detail. This contact resulted from an interdisciplinary meeting organised by the Centre and Psychology to discuss overlap in our work as well as areas for future collaboration. Prof Russo discussed the KTP with Provide and the opportunity to enhance impact through an unused pool of data that could strengthen the outcomes of the project. A meeting with John is still pending but in the meantime, John (of Provide) is now aware of the Centre and the data analytics services it provides for now and in the future. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Enquiry from Robertson Cooper |
| 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 | On 25th June 2020 the Centre received an enquiry from Ivan Robertson of Robertson Cooper. Ivan was interested in discussing how he can partner with the Centre in order to access data analytics support through the DAIV scheme. Ivan reported, 'At Robertson Cooper one of our most important areas of work involves measuring the mental health and wellbeing of employees in client organisations. To do this we have developed a collection of standardised and validated online survey tools. Sophisticated rule bases lie behind the tools and enable us to provide clients with a range of feedback reports (never revealing data for individual employees). As well as measuring wellbeing and mental health, the survey tools also enable us to assess the workplace pressures that affect these outcomes. So, in brief we can measure: drivers of wellbeing (workplace pressures); current levels of wellbeing and mental health; self-reported business outcomes (e.g. productivity, sickness absence, presenteeism). We also have standardised measures to assess underlying personality - and we use this (again with a sophisticated rule base) to provide feedback on personal resilience. When people report on their current levels of wellbeing psychological research has established that, to some degree, what they report is determined by their circumstances (e.g. workplace pressures) and also, to some degree, by underlying personality factors (e.g. tendency to experience positive emotions or anxiety). We have large, separate, data sets for both areas, i.e. data on workplace pressures and business outcomes and data on personality. We also have a smaller data set (but still several thousand cases) containing both types. What we would like to be able to do is use the existing data to identify the separate contribution of personal factors and environment to wellbeing, mental health and business outcome measures. If we could do this it would lead to a clearer basis for deciding on interventions (e.g. resilience training for individuals) or changes to the work environment.' Further support was provided including how to apply for a DAIV as well as upcoming webinars covering a range of topical matters. Ivan was also offered a virtual consultation in order to discuss the application further. On 26th June 2020 a formal expression of interest was submitted to the directors for approval. On 8th July 2020 the client was informed that their EOI was approved. The full DAIV application forms were sent for completion. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Enquiry from Role Catcher |
| 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 | On 11th June 2021 the Centre received an enquiry from James Fogg, CEO of Role Catcher who was interested in applying for a Data Science and AI Project Placement: Masters DAIV. Further details about the scheme and an application form were sent to James for completion. RoleCatcher was established because they, as job seekers, have personal experience as to how finding a new job has been altered by recruitment automation. The business is founded on a single mission, to create the software that they wanted to use to help organise and focus search activities. RoleCatcher has been created to empower job seekers to keep on top of all elements of their search. The objective is for members to find their next role faster. 29.6.21 - James submitted two project proposals focused on the following: Project 1: Transferable Skills Navigation using Machine Learning. Analysis of the public data outputs from the Nesta Mapping 'Career Causeways' project to define: 1) Paths for ad hoc end user navigation of datasets. 2) Elements required to construct user profiles that can reflect complexities of career histories and the skills that have been attained. 3) Methods to apply these profiles against the full dataset to help build personalised options or highlight skills gaps vs. desired career path. 4) Elements that can then be stored against user profiles. 5) Application of these outputs such as providing links to relevant training or helping to construct keywords to be used for future job searched. Project 2: Job Specification Analysis. Due to the increasing role of automation in recruitment, the ratio of applications to interviews has widened. To manage this increase more job specifications need to be reviewed by a job seeker. Reading a specification in full takes time to access whether there is a good match to the applicants' skills and experience. If categories of words could be automatically extracted from the job specification it would make this assessment much easier. The purpose of this project is to apply NLP and Machine Learning to extract and categorise relevant keywords from the specification. The project is about keyword extraction and its classification into certain categories. Unsupervised or supervised methods can be used including using state-of-the-art pre-trained contextual language models such as BERT. On 3rd August 2021 the Centre contacted the client with feedback from the panel. One of the projects has been accepted and will proceed to the next phase. The second project requires some additional information to be confirmed before a final decision can be made. On 20th August 2021 the Centre informed the client that following the receipt of additional information, both project one and two have been accepted for the Masters DAIV scheme. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Enquiry from Route Agency |
| 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 | On 9th July 2020, the Centre received an enquiry from Route Agency. Ben Dascombe director of Route contacted the Centre via email following our presentation earlier in the day as part of the SELEP/Digital Skills Partnership virtual workshop. Ben was interested in finding out more about the grant-funded data analytics support provided by the Centre. Follow up emails were exchanged providing information and advice on how to benefit from future collaborative research and data related projects. Ben was also encouraged to jooin the upcoming webinars and follow the Centre on social media too. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Enquiry from SPOT (Safer Prescription of Optoid Tool) |
| 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 | On 21st July 2020 the Centre received an enquiry from Roger Flint of SPOT. He stated SPOT is a software as a service clinician decision support CE-marked and clinically validated medical device currently in use in the NHS. They have a completely novel dataset and would be very grateful for some assistance in analysing this and identifying the value to prescribers, industry and to patients. A follow-up email was sent providing further information regarding the support provided by the Centre and how to apply for a DAIV. Roger was also offered a virtual consultation to discuss the nature of the project in more detail and was made aware of the upcoming webinars. On 7th August 2020 the Centre facilitated a virtual consultation with Roger of SPOT to explore the potential for a research project, analysing the data collected through their opioid tool. Expression of Interest forms completed 9th September 2020 and submitted to the directors for approval. Expression of Interest approved and the DAIV Application received on the 8th March 2021 and will be competitively assessed after the current funding round closes on the 31st March 2021 by the DAIV Review Panel. On 25th March 2021 a full application form for the DAIV was completed and submitted to the Centre's directors for approval. SPOT was informed of the next steps. On 17th June 2021 the Centre received a new application form from SPOT for the Data Science and AI Project Placement: Masters DAIV scheme. The application form was sent to the panel for review at the end of the closing round (21st June 2021). Dr Flint was informed of the timeline for decisions - July. On 3rd August 2021 the Centre informed the client of the panel's decision regarding the latest application. The project was rejected and feedback was given. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Enquiry from Saffron Housing Trust Limited |
| 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 | On 17th May 2021 the Centre received an enquiry from Noel Khine head of PMO Transformation at Saffron Housing Trust Limited, following the launch of the Master DAIV scheme. Noel is interested in applying for a Data Analytics Innovation Voucher to fund a Master's level student to support better use of data. Further emails were exchanged with information about the Centre and its wide range of data analytics expertise that may be beneficial to Noel and his organisation. Noel has requested an application form in order to progress his expression of interest to the next phase. Noel is a contact of the Centre's through past involvement at Healthwatch Essex. Noel is also a board member of Emmaus and is interested in an application from their charity looking at impact assesmsent or needs evaluation. On 1st June 2021 the Centre received an application for the Data Science and AI Project Placements: The Masters DAIV scheme. The application was sent to the directors of the Centre for approval. On 3rd August 2021 the Centre emailed the client to inform them of the decision panel's feedback on their application which was rejected. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Enquiry from Sakshi Sakshi |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | On 17th June 2021 the Centre received an enquiry from Sakshi Sakshi. They contacted the Centre to request an application form for the Data Science and AI Project Placement: Masters DAIV programme. No further details about the nature of the project or organisation were given at this time and it looks likely that the individual is expressing an interest as a Masters student. Further information along with application forms were supplied for completion if relevant. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Enquiry from Scottish Ambulance Service |
| 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 | In June 2022 the Centre held a virtual consultation with Dr Adam Lloyd, National Research and Innovation Manager, Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) and the Associate Medical Director of the Ambulance Service Gareth Clegg. The consultation focused on how collaborative research with the Centre and its wider research partners could enable SAS to use their data more proactively. In addition to projects funded through the Data Science and AI Masters Project scheme, Adam was interested in exploring more indepth longer term analytics and research aligned to their strategic vision and data strategy. Following the consultation, Adam submitted an application form for the Data Science and AI Masters Project scheme. The project titled: "Analysis of text to inform reductions in drug related deaths: an AI/Data Science approach" aims to 1. Develop an AI model that analyses free text from an electronic patient record. 2. Discover patterns/trends in free text that can inform reductions in drug related harm and deaths. The desirable outcome is for SAS to understand whether free text can be automatically analysed using an AI model. If so, the patterns and/or trends that emerge will inform the national approach to reducing drug related harm and deaths. The application form will be reviewed at the end of the funding round. Further consultations are being planned to discuss how to move forward with wider collaborative research. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Enquiry from Senator Pens Ltd |
| 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 | On 15th March 2021, the Centre received a referral from the BEST Growth Hub for Senator Pens Ltd. Olga Titova of Senator Pens Ltd required support and information on how to use data analytics to improve their business functions such as reaching new customers, improving products and ROI. An email exchange included further support on a variety of topics and covered the range of data analytics support provided by the Centre. The Centre arranged a consultation for 18th May 2021. On 18th May 2021 the Centre conducted a consultation with Claire and Olga of Senator Pens. The consultation focused on shaping ideas for a Master DAIV application in the current fuding. This included analytics to understand which products are most effective for specific key demographic target audiences, predictive analytics on the impact of cost restructure on end users and market data to improve brand awareness. On 15th June 2021 the Cente received an application for the Masters DAIV which was submitted to the board upon the closure of the funding round on 21st June 2021. On 3rd August 2021 the Centre contacted the client with feedback from the approval panel regarding their application. Further information was requested in order to make a final decision. On 20th August 2021 the Centre confirmed the project has been approved for delivery after receiving the required additional information to make a final decision. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Enquiry from Shainika Yerramsetti |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | On 18th June 2021 the Centre received an enquiry from Shainika Yerramsetti . They contacted the Centre to request an application form for the Data Science and AI Project Placement: Masters DAIV programme. No further details were given at this time and it looks likely that the individual is expressing an interest as a Masters student. Further information along with application forms were supplied for completion if relevant. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Enquiry from Smart Power Networks |
| 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 | On 21st June 2022, the Centre received a completed Data Science and AI Masters Project from Smart Power Networks. Angelos Patsidis, Head of Power Systems was referred to the Centre from Dr Katerina Bourazeri. The project titled 'A Machine Learning-based approach to address the uncertainty of electrified heating systems through heat-vector demand forecasting and anomaly detection' aims to address the uncertainty of the heat-vector demand estimation by a two-fold approach; first, develop a robust forecasting modeling of heating load for a 24-hour horizon, and second, develop an anomaly detection algorithm to capture unusual heating consumption in real-time. There are two expected outcomes, with the second one being optional and to be discussed with the School/candidate: a. The development of a 24-hour ahead Heating Load Forecasting model with a good performance metric. b. The development of a (near) real-time anomaly detection of Heating Load. The project will be reviewed by the approval panel at the end of the funding round. A consultation with the business also took place on 21st June 2022 to provide additional support and explore wider collaborative research opportunities. On 27th June 2022 the Centre received two applications from the company following a positive consultation on 21st June 2022. The two projects include a revised version of the above as well as a new project. The final two projects are as follows and will be reviewed at the end of the funding round: Project 1 - A Machine Learning-based approach to address the uncertainty of electrified heating systems through heat-vector demand forecasting and anomaly detection. - The general aim of this project is to address the uncertainty of the heat-vector demand estimation by a two-fold approach; first, develop a robust forecasting modeling of heating load for a 24-hour horizon, and second, develop an anomaly detection algorithm to capture unusual heating consumption in real-time. Project 2 - A Machine Learning-powered prediction of residential Electric Vehicle Charging pattern and an Interpretability Analysis. The general aim of this project is to develop an accurate prediction model of 24-hour ahead residential EV charging pattern, and second (optional), apply an interpretability analysis on the proposed model." |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Enquiry from South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust |
| 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 | On 21st June 2021 the Centre received an enquiry from Simon Mortimore, Assistant Director for Business Information of South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust. Simon was interested in the Data Science and AI Project Placement scheme: Masters DAIV. Further information along with application forms were sent for completion. About South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust The Trust is responsible for a range of services including 999, 111 and patient transport and logistics. It serves over 7,000,000 residents, conducting 554,000 urgent calls each year. They have over 900 vehicles and 1,023 Community First Responders and Co-responders. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Enquiry from South East Local Enterprise Partnership (SELEP) Digital Skills Partnership |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | On 21st January 2022 the Centre received contact from Jim/James Wilkinson Digital Skills Partnership Co-ordinator for the South East Local Enterprise Partnership and Digital Skills Partnership. Jim has been a long time contact with the centre and invited the Centre to become a member of the Digital Skills Partnership steering group in 2020. Since then the relationship has led to joint webinars and sharing of best practice. The Data Science and AI Projects:Masters DAIV placements are of particular interest to Jim and he requested an application form for completion. On 27th January 2022 Jim submitted a project proposal titled 'Developing a Digital Skills Prospectus Tool' designed to understand data-related challenges involved in developing the tool we propose and how they surmount them in future. The application was submitted for approval and the current version is with the Centre directors for feedback ahead of the final deadline in February 2022. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Enquiry from South Paw Agency |
| 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 | On 13th December 2021, the Centre received contact from Tom Poynter CEO of South Paw Agency. The contact resulted from social media exchange in December 2021. A consultation was arranged for January 2022 and a date is pending. South Paw Agency is a strategic creative agency. They specialise in using the science of emotion to help brands find their edge and create long term growth. The organisation is interested in benefiting from a research collaboration with the Centre to explore data and enhance practice. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Enquiry from Southend YMCA |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | On 17th September 2020 the Centre received a referral from BEST Growth Hub. Syrie Cox of Southend YMCA required data analytics support. At the point of referral, no details were provided on the nature of the need. Follow up information about the Centre was provided on 18th September 2020. Syrie was also encouraged to sign up to the webinars and offered a consultation to discuss further needs. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Enquiry from Southend YMCA |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | On 21st January 2020, Syrie Cox of Southend YMCA contacted the Centre following an email inviting her to attend the next webinar focusing on how to apply for grant funded data analytics support. Syrie was provided with additional information and encouraged to register for the webinar a well as other training and workshop opportunities designed for the charity sector. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Enquiry from Spark the Difference |
| 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 | On 2nd August 2020 the Centre received an enquiry from Sam Meikle, CEO of Spark the Difference. Sam missed the DAIV information webinar in June and emailed to find out more about the scheme. Further details were sent and a consultation offered. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Enquiry from Spark the Difference |
| 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 | On 9th September 2020 the Centre received an enquiry from Sam Meikle of Spark the Difference. Sam attended the DAIV information webinar which took place earlier that day. She contacted the Centre to book a consultation in order to explore how we can work in partnership to analyse text data. Specifically, with qualitative and process improvement approaches to help NHS decision makers understand, and act on, what matters to people who give and receive care. Sam would like to strengthen work with a data-driven approach and have a few ideas - building on existing transcript data they have from long form interviews; or supplementing qualitative research with publicly available opinion data (eg. through social media). Consultation completed on 17th September 2020 to discuss areas of collaboration and suitable DAIV projects. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Enquiry from Srikanth Reddy |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | On 18th June 2021 the Centre received an enquiry from Srikanth Reddy. Srikanth contacted the Centre to request an application form for the Data Science and AI Project Placement: Masters DAIV programme. No further details were given at this time and it looks likely that the individual is expressing an interest as a Masters student. Further information along with application forms were supplied for completion if relevant. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Enquiry from St Georges Medical Practice |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | On 14th February 2020 the Centre received an enquiry from Katherine Smith, Practice Manager Dr Khan and Partners, St Georges Medical Practice - Operations Manager - Benfleet PCN. Katherine had herd about the webinar which took place earlier int he month but was unable to attend the session. Katherine wanted to find out more about the data analytics support available and how to apply if applicable. Follow up information was shared via email. Katherine was encouraged to follow the Centre on social media and visit the website to benefit from the upcoming workshops. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Enquiry from St Lukes Hospice |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | On 10th January 2020 Stuart Masters from St Lukes Hospice (Data Base Manager) contacted the Centre to enquiry if the DAIVs are open for application. This contact was formed following his attendance at the Impact Assessment workshop in 2019. Stuart was encouraged to sign up to the DAIV information webinar and provided with additional support. Following attendance of DAIV webinar, Stuart submitted an EOI which was sent to the Centre Director for approval. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Enquiry from Stacey Nathaniel |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | On 26th August 2020 the Centre received an enquiry from Stacey Nathaniel. At the point of the enquiry she had not disclosed the organisation she was enquiring on behalf of. Stacey expressed an interest in the DAIV scheme to enhance their information management and data process. Further information about the DAIV scheme was provided and Stacey was encouraged to join the information webinar to find out more. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Enquiry from Staffordshire Business School, Staffordshire University Associate Dean |
| 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 | On 24th April 2020 the Centre received an email enquiry from Staffordshire Business School, Staffordshire University (www.staffs.ac.uk) Associate Dean Prof Fang Zhao, Professor of Innovation and Strategy. Fang reported 'I'm conducting a research project on the impacts of Covid-19 on businesses in particular SMEs in the UK and am also interested in local government responses to the pandemic. I'm wondering what dataset your centre has collected that would be useful for my research. I'm thinking about applying for a SDAI grant to support the study. Would be great if you can refer me to any researchers who might be interested in collaboration.' The enquiry was sent to the Centre director for a decision on how best to support Fang. In the meantime, Fang was sign posted to current research conducted on the impact of Covid-19 and was informed of relevent webinars coming up. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Enquiry from Stephenson Herwood LLP |
| 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 | On 17th June 2021 the Centre received an enquiry from Jessica Fernanda Cebrian Aguirre, Data Scientist at Stephenson Herwood LLP. She contacted the Centre to request an application form for the Data Science and AI Project Placement: Masters DAIV programme. No further details about the nature of the project or organisation were given at this time. Further information along with application forms were supplied for completion if relevant. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Enquiry from Strategy Hand |
| 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 | On 3rd August 2020 the Centre received an enquiry from Lewis Daniel of Strategy Hand. Lewis discovered the services provided by the Centre through an advert posted by London Growth Hub via their website. Lewis requested further information about the DAIV scheme and wider support available. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Enquiry from Successful Mums |
| 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 | On 10th July 2020 the Centre received an enquiry from Jane Knight of Successful Mums. Jane became aware of the Centre due to presenting at the SELEP (Digital Skills Partnership virtual event on 9th July 2020. The Centre was presenting on its work and the importance of data as well as data protection. Jane called to book a consultation in order to find out more about the Centre and how we can support their organisation specifically. Successful Mums is an organisation that supports parents in returning to work after having children. They provide a range of support and work with parents of all ages, employers, government, Job Centre Plus (JCP), councils and others. The organisation has over 2500 surveys and other data on RTW mums. Jane (CEO of Successful Mums) is keen to make a difference and publish findings to influence policy and raise awareness of the barriers. Areas of interest include: Predicting need Analysing the barriers parents face in returning to work and the support required Impact of their services SROI Causal and other analytics Drivers and motivators Influencing decision making or understanding drivers to modify pathways of support (plus more) Jane is also keen to access open-source data to enhance insight. She is open to sharing data and to our ideas on the types of analysis we could conduct. She and her colleagues have registered for the webinars. Another priority is using the data to evidence the impact of their org. on helping RTW to secure future grant funding from the Gov etc. Already works closely with JCP so it is likely that we can access further data on employment etc. The Centre booked a virtual consultation which is due to take place at the end of July 2020 and will involve the senior researcher officer who will: 1) offer advice on data collection 2) share ideas on potential research projects to inform an EOI If the EOI is approved by the Centre's directors they will then be invited to complete a DAIV application form in the next round. EOI submitted on 28th July 2020. The outcome is pending and will depend on the decisions of the centre's directors. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Enquiry from Sunaina Deep |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | On 17th June 2021 the Centre received an enquiry from Sunaina Deep. They contacted the Centre to request an application form for the Data Science and AI Project Placement: Masters DAIV programme. No further details about the nature of the project or organisation were given at this time and it looks likely that the individual is expressing an interest as a Masters student. Further information along with application forms were supplied for completion if relevant. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Enquiry from Sustenic Ltd |
| 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 | On 18th June 2021 the Centre received an enquiry from EurIng Jose Ortiz, Director at Sustenic Ltd. He contacted the Centre to request an application form for the Data Science and AI Project Placement: Masters DAIV programme. No further details about the nature of the project or organisation were given at this time. Further information along with application forms were supplied for completion. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Enquiry from Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | On 18th September 2020 the Centre received an enquiry from Marion Shipman, Associate Director Quality and Governance, Quality Directorate for Travistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust. Having listened to the webinar delivered via CHAIN Network earlier that day, Marion was interested in seeking advice on how to better use data and the training available to her. Follow up support was provided and a consultation offered. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Enquiry from Tech Balance |
| 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 | On 31st May 2022 the Centre received a Data Science and AI Masters Project application from Ryan Bell, Director of Tech Balance. The company engaged in a virtual consultation where the team provided insight and advice on how best to collect data in order to provide useful information to measure success and impact on young people. Tech Balance is an education and coaching consultancy that empowers students to achieve their potential by optimising their digital wellbeing. Working with the tertiary education sector, as well as students and their parents directly, Tech Balance aims to build services that help students improve their relationship with tech: - 1:1 Coaching - Educational Workshops - Teacher Training - Certification Programme |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Enquiry from The English Cream Tea Company |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | On 7th April 2021 the Centre received a referral from the BEST Growth Hub for the English Cream Tea Company. Jane Maylon founder of the English Cream Tea Company is collecting data but would like support on how to streamline the process and optimise its use. Further information about the Data Analytics Innovation Voucher scheme, training, webinars and events was provided via email. A consultation to explore this in more detail was also offered. About the company The English Cream Tea Company was founded in 2011 and has since won the Taste Awards as well as being filmed for Taiwan and Russia. The company has featured on BBC TV, BBC 2, BBC Radio Essex, Sunday Times, The Guardian, Woman and Home magazine, Essex Life, Mwaah magazine, Woman magazine and Herts & Essex Observer. As well as a cream tea company, the founder Jane has published books on British etiquette and has a highly popular Tedx Talk on the matter. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Enquiry from This is Me |
| 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 | On 10th February 2022 the Centre received an enquiry from Miff Martinek, Founder or This is Me. After connecting via social media and being recommended by Goal 17 (following a previously completed DAIV with Fran Boorman of Goal 17), Miff was interested in working with the Centre to learn how to improve the way in which the organisation gathers wellbeing data for partner schools and on the effectiveness of programmes. Aiming to achieve is a much better picture of how mentoring is affecting wellbeing within partner schools longer term, she is seeking expert advice and the creation of a model that will improve the quality of collecting and analysing data - therefore provide greater insight into the success of the interventions. About This is Me The organisation works within schools to improve student wellbeing through a mentorship programme. The programme aims to use a proven, four-step method to transform pupil wellbeing through peer mentoring. This is Me had one of their two projects approved in the Data Science and AI Masters Project scheme. Miff was informed in May 2022 of the decision. In June 2022, a new flash funding round launched for the Data Science and AI Masters Project scheme. As part of this the Centre conducted a virtual consultation to scope future collaborative research projects applicable for the June funding round. The project was approved and a student appointed to commence the research in September 2022. Upon completion in December 2022, This is Me CEO was pleased with the results and found them insightful which are hoped to inform the company's work moving forward. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Enquiry from Thymometrics |
| 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 | On 23rd January 2022 the Centre received an application containing a project proposal for the Data Science and AI Masters Project scheme. The project was submitted by CEO of Thymometrics, Jerry Pett. The project will comprise of using predictive analytics to predict trends from employee data. The application was processed and will be reviewed in February 2022 along with other project proposals. About Thymometrics Thymometrics was founded in 2012 in Cambridge (UK) by Hugh Tonks and Jerry Pett based on Hugh's original concept for a new approach to the employee engagement survey. The compan mission is to be the leading global supplier of always-on, real-time employee engagement surveys through the delivery of continued product development and innovation coupled with a commitment to first-class customer service. Built on leading cloud technology we provide an enterprise-class, always-on, real-time employee feedback platform at a competitive price. They believe in placing in customers at the centre of their strategy, and in providing openness and transparency at all times. Thymometrics is privately owned with operations in the United States, UK, France and Spain. In May 2022 the faculty leads for the Data Science and AI Masters Project scheme met. The heads of faculty form the decision panel for approving projects during this funding round. The Centre informed the client that their project had been accepted by the approval panel. The project will now be advertised to Masters students and aligned to the most suitable candidate ahead of the project commencing in June or September 2022. In June 2022 the Centre conducted a further consultation with Thymometric to discuss other Data Science and AI Masters Projects. Following the sessions Jerry of Thymometrics submitted two new projects for approval in the flash funding round: Project 2 Build predictive model to show likelihood an employee will be leaving their employer in a specified time window. - To build and train a model so we can understand likely attrition, and can use this data to help our clients take remedial action to retain their talent, hence reducing costs and driving up company performance. Project 3 Build model to understand the drivers of employee turnover. - To build and train a model so we can understand likely attrition, and can use this data to help our clients take remedial action to retain their talent, hence reducing costs and driving up company performance. These will be reviewed at the end of the funding round. Thymometrics project 1 has been successfully completed. The panel decided to combine the concepts from the expression of interest forms relating to 2 and 3 into one research project. These are still being finalised ahead of completion in January 2023. Thymometrics project 2 was successfully completed in February 2023. The project built on the knowledge gained through project 1 (mentioned above) and strived to advance the use of data science in HR. As a result of the project further research is planned and wider knowledge exchange activities are in discussion. The Centre has arranged an official visit for the company in March 2023. This will be an opportunity to meet partners in person and present the findings of projects 1 and 2. The visit will also include introductions to wider academic partners for follow on research and publications. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Enquiry from Tide Global Ltd |
| 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 | On 27th April 2020 the Centre received a referral from Mandie of Business Women's Network for Chris Murphy (Tide Global). This referral resulted from the presentation delivered on 24th April 2020 to the network. Chris requested further information regarding the DAIV scheme. Additional information was sent via email and a consultation appointment offered. Chris was also encouraged to register for the free virtual workshops and webinars due in May 2020. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Enquiry from Transport for West Midlands |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | On 17th February 2022 the Centre received a Data Science and AI Masters project application from Charmaine Swann, Principal Research Analyst at Transport for West Midlands. The application resulted from ongoing support and engagement with organisation and its partners since pre-pandemic which has included training and wider research collaborations. This specific project is titled: Comparison of traffic data, a discussion and model development. It will aim to know which dataset collection method is the most cost effective, most accurate and most representative method which we should invest in at Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) as part of the understanding traffic demand in the West Midlands. The project will be submitted for approval at the end of the funding round. In May 2022 the faculty leads for the Data Science and AI Masters Project scheme met. The heads of faculty form the decision panel for approving projects during this funding round. The Centre informed the client that their project had been accepted by the approval panel. The project will now be advertised to Masters students and aligned to the most suitable candidate ahead of the project commencing in June or September 2022. A student was successfully aligned to the project which commenced in June 2022. In December 2022 the project was completed. The outcomes from which are hoped to be used to inform the strategy used in West Midlands to manage transport and its use of technology and procurement in the public sector. A secondary outcome is its predictive analytics capacity. This project enabled the relationship between the Centre and TfWM partners to progress, allowing the organisation to better use data. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Enquiry from Trunk Logistics Limited |
| 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 | On 2nd September 2020 the Centre received a referral from BEST Growth Hub for Trunk Logistics Limited. Joanna Sedley-Burke of Trunk Logistics was interested in finding out more about the grant funded data analytics support available through the Centre. Further information was supplied and support provided through follow up emails. Joanna was also encouraged to register for the upcoming webinar. . |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Enquiry from Umesh Ahuja |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | On 17th June 2021 the Centre received an enquiry from Umesh Ahuja. They contacted the Centre to request an application form for the Data Science and AI Project Placement: Masters DAIV programme. No further details were given at this time and it looks likely that the individual is expressing an interest as a Masters student. Further information along with application forms were supplied for completion if relevant. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Enquiry from Uniform 7 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | On 8th April 2021, the Centre received a referral from BEST Growth Hub regarding the company Uniform 7. The Centre is renowned for being the 'go to' for data analytics and this resulted in the referral from BEST Growth Hub. Rachael Richards of Uniform 7 required data advice related to CRM optimisation and how best to use data in order to market more effectively. The advice was provided via email including further information on the DAIV scheme, training, webinars and best practice. Rachael was offered a virtual consultation in order to discuss her key challenges in more detail and to explore any relevant project suitable for funding through the DAIV. About Uniform 7 Uniform7 is an innovative school uniform and workwear service-based online supplying schools and SMEs across Essex and the UK. Driven by high standards and great customer care built with 17 years industry experience. Established in 2016, they have already won several awards including Best New Business twice in 2017 and Micro Business of the Year in 2018. Uniform 7 is officially associated with the Princes Trust and will continue to work closely with them to develop the best school uniform and workwear service in the country. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Enquiry from Utility Bridge Limited |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | On 14th February 2020, the Centre received a referral from the BEST Growth Hub for a business called Utility Bridge Limited. Darren Jones has been working with BEST Growth Hub and is interested in finding out more about the Centre as their organisation is has built a software energy management platform. They have some concerns that whilst collecting data, they do not have knowledge of how to use data to increase their reach and increase sales. The Centre sent a follow up email to the business to provide further information about the range of workshops, social media content/podcasts and other support available to them. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Enquiry from Vapour Central |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | On 20th May 2021 the Centre received a referral from BEST Growth Hub for Vapour Central. Sam Bignell of Vapour Central is seeking support on how to use data in order to build an optimal IT system. Further information was provided via email and used as an opportunity to highlight the range of webinars and resources available for business growth via our website and YouTube channel. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Enquiry from Vezco |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | On 24th January 2020 the Centre received a referral from BEST Growth Hub. Yiget Erol of Vezco is developing a product that will be a platform service developed through his experience in data marketing, target marketing, systems marketing. This will be a subscription based software system in place within companies as a service platform. Technically his target audience will be b2b who work with b2s clients. BEST Growth Hub have also referred the client to EIRA for testing and validation but would like to discuss more in depth support on the data analyse of the product with the Centre. A follow up email was sent with additional information about the Centre and support available. Yigit was encouraged to register for upcoming events and webinars. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Enquiry from Vitality Hub |
| 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 | On 24th January 2022 the Centre received an application for the Data Science and AI Masters Project scheme. Rosaria Barreto Director of Vitality Hub. The project proposal titled 'Mature Movers' hopes to curate a one of a kind algorithm that can group people based on the results of a questionnaire, the questions involved will require extracting data about the individuals physical, psychological and preferential needs. The application resulted following the Centre's relationship with Innovate UK who are supporting promoting the new scheme to its stakeholders. About Vitality Hub Vitality Hub is a UK based, personal training company that works with people who are living with chronic illnesses, as well individuals who struggle with everyday movement. They specialise in senior holistic health and offer a range of services including exercise for seniors over 75, in home personal training, exercise videos for seniors, they also work with later life organisations. The organisation is currently based in Maidstone, Kent. We are available for Private Personal Training, Private Group Training across the southeast and offer virtual projects around the U.K. In May 2022 the faculty leads for the Data Science and AI Masters Project scheme met. The heads of faculty form the decision panel for approving projects during this funding round. The Centre informed the client that their project had not been accepted by the panel. Support was offered via email along with an invitation to engage further through other data analytics routes. Following further consultations with the Centre, Vitality Hub submitted a revised application in June 2022. This will be reviewed at the end of the funding round. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Enquiry from Vysion Technologies Ltd |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | On 3rd February 2022 the Centre received a Data Science and AI Masters Project application from Tavis Shore, Chief Technical Officers of Vysion Technologies Ltd. The project titled Pipeline Anomaly Detection System is designed to anomaly detection pipeline design and modelling. The application was submitted and will be reviewed at the end of the current funding round on 17th February 2022. In May 2022 the faculty leads for the Data Science and AI Masters Project scheme met. The heads of faculty form the decision panel for approving projects during this funding round. The Centre informed the client that their project had not been accepted by the approval panel. Support was offered via email along with an invitation to engage further through other data analytics routes. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Enquiry from WSP |
| 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 | On 16th June 2021 the Centre received and enquiry from Dr Jeff Tjiong of WSP. The enquiry resulted from the launch of the Data Science and AI Project Placement: Masters DAIV scheme. The Masters DAIV project would focus on a UK-based transport modelling project. WSP is currently developing an agent-based transport model based on the MATSim framework, which they hope to employ advanced machine learning techniques to derive travellers daily activity patterns as part of the key model inputs. Activity patterns will be generated based on ESRC data sets including the UK time use survey. The analytical framework for daily activity pattern recognition will be similar to the methodology developed by Hafezi, Liu & Millward (2019). Further information about the scheme and wider business data support provided by the Centre was sent via email along with the application forms for completion. 30.6.21 - Jeff submitted an application form with a project that focuses on time-use activity-pattern recognition. Project aims: To apply machine learning techniques in order to derive homogenous daily activity patterns for use in travel demand modelling. Expected outcomes: A set of homogenous activity patterns that can be split into different dimensions and time intervals. Each interval could include information on activity types, duration, start time, location and travel mode. 3.8.21 - the Centre informed the client that their project application has been accepted. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Enquiry from We are Umi |
| 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 | The Centre received an enquiry from We are Umi who provide business support for SMEs in England. Katrina McGregor emailed to find out more information about the DAIV scheme in order to update their records and inform their clients accordingly. New information provided and offered to collaborate or be involved in future events to showcase and promote the services provided by the Centre as well as the wider benefit of using data analytics and research within the business sector. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Enquiry from Wellkom International |
| 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 | On 17th February 2022 the Centre received a Data Science and AI Masters Project application form from Wellkom International. Anthony Phillips, Founder of Wellkon International submitted a project titled: Wellness - Performance - Health Whole Life - Personalised Wellness Analytics. It aims to provide each individual with a data-driven service to improve their personal wellness management which leads to higher performance - wellness - health. The completed application will be submitted at the end of the funding round. Further engagement continued throughout March 2022 as Anthony discussed wider collaborative research opportunities and expressed an interest in working with the senior research team. The wider Centre expression of interest forms were sent for completion and will be processed once completed. In May 2022 the faculty leads for the Data Science and AI Masters Project scheme met. The heads of faculty form the decision panel for approving projects during this funding round. The Centre informed the client that their project had been accepted by the approval panel. The project will now be advertised to Masters students and aligned to the most suitable candidate ahead of the project commencing in June or September 2022. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Enquiry from West Midlands Police |
| 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 | On 23rd June 2020 the Centre received an enquiry from Ashley Banks of West Midlands Police. The enquiry resulted from the recent promotional activity for the DAIV bounce back from COVID-19 webinar. Whilst Ashley missed the webinar, he was keen to engage with the Centre to find out more about how we can partner to support effective data analytics. The police currently have a number of priority projects and are particularly interested in the evaluation of these. A virtual consultation was offered to explore collaboration further. On 26th June 2020 the Centre held a consultation with Ashley, Meg and Til of West Midlands Police to discuss the projects they have requiring data analytics support. Following the consultation, a formal EOI form was sent for completion. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Enquiry from West Yorkshire Violence Reduction Unit |
| 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 | On 23rd June 2021 the Centre received an enquiry from Jeremy Swire, VRU Research and Evaluation Officer at West Yorkshire Violence Reduction Unit. He is currently completing his Data Science and AI Project Placement Masters DAIV application form and requested a consultation with the team to discuss the project in more detail. 24.6.21 - Consultation with Chloe and Sam of the Knowledge Hub to discuss potential projects and future partnerships. Also interested in data analytics training. 30.6.21 - The team submitted an application with the project focusing on Social Network Analysis on Youth Offending Cohort. Project aims: To conduct social network analysis on a Youth Offending Cohort (YOT), understanding if linked persons to offences can help predict those who might become involved in serious violence (as victim or perpetrator) enabling us to focus our resources and interventions most appropriately. Expected outcomes · Identification of at-risk young people in becoming involved in serious violence (as victim or perpetrator) · Identification of toxic peer groups. · Begin to develop an initial understanding of communication patterns (on social media) to predict violence links. · All these outcomes will assist the VRU's approach to tackling violence and act as a further shift away from a reactive to a preventative approach to tackling violence. 3.8.21 - the Centre informed the client that the approval panel have accepted their project application. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Enquiry from Wider Eastern Information Stakeholder Forum (WEISF) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | In November 2019 the Centre was highlighted to WEISF. Following an email exchange, the Centre was invited to present at the forum's meeting in November/December 2019. This request was declined by the Centre director. However, the Centre did send follow up information for circulation to its members. This included general information about the Centre, training opportunities, grant funded data analytics and ways to engage with the team as well as keep up to date on news and information via social media. The main contact for WEISF was Oliver Sharpe (Information Gov. Assistance) or Essex County Council |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Enquiry from Winning Moves |
| 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 | On 31st July 2020 the Centre received an enquiry from Mark Modena from Winning Moves. This enquiry resulted from a LinkedIn, during which Mark sent a direct message to one of the Centre staff expressing interest in the Centre's work and requesting a meeting. Follow up emails were exchanged and a meeting arranged. Mark was provided with details about the Centre and the support we provide. On 4th August 2020 the Centre conducted a consultation with Mark to discuss their work and its links to data for sector growth and productivity for the businesses they support. At present they are looking to expand their model through the Growth Hubs to include predictive analytics. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Enquiry from WitWit/ Moveme |
| 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 | On 8th March 2022 the Centre received an email regarding the Data Science and AI Masters Project placements. Ben Polkinghorne founder of WitWit was interested in exploring collaborative research. He reported that 'We're building patent-pending technology that lets us extract emotion from videos using machine learning. We believe this has many applications... for example, many people (myself included!) find it hard to find a good movie to watch. Imagine if you could pick your current mood with an emoji, and your desired feeling with an emoji, and be recommended movies to take you on that specific journey?' The Centre is planning to arrange a consultation to discuss routes for knowledge exchange including DAIVs and other avenues where applicable. On 13th June 2022 the Centre received an updated EOI from Witwit. This will form part of the discussion during the scheduled consultation facilitated by the Centre which will bring together our researchers, the company and wider University of Essex colleagues on 21st June 2022. On 27th June 2022 the Centre received a completed application from Ben under the new company name of Move Me. The project titled 'Emotionally intelligent audience predictions' aims to create an ML system to predict how a TV ad will make an audience feel. This Data Science and AI Masters Project application form will be reviewed at the end of the funding round. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Enquiry from Xtonnes |
| 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 | On 31st January 2022 the Centre received an enquiry from Andy Hale Co-founder of Xtonnes who was interested in exploring the collaborative research opportunities funded through the Data Science and AI Masters Projects. Xtonnes is a carbon insights software start-up supporting businesses to assess their carbon emissions and work towards Net Zero. Andy requested a consultation with the senior research team to discuss potential projects ahead of an application. The consultation date is pending confirmation but application forms have been sent for completion. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Enquiry from Yummy Jobs |
| 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 | On 10th June 2020 the Centre received a referral from BEST Growth Hub for Yummy Jobs. Jason Smith of Yummy Jobs was interested in learning more about how to use data to improve his business. The Centre sent a follow up email offering advice and support on how to apply for a Data Analytics Innovation Voucher. Jason was also sign posted to our webinars coming up in 2020-21. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Enquiry from iWarranty Ltd |
| 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 | On 3rd February 2022, the Centre received a Data Science and AI Masters Project application from iWarranty Ltd. Dr Ruby Pillai of iWarranty would like to undertake collaborative research to undertake a project titled: iW Smart Lense: Machine learning algorithm (incremental learning) to train lense to recognise products (image recognition). Application ML to home appliances/household electronic devices/gadgets. The overall aim of the project would be to help consumers to onboard their home appliances quickly by using iW Smart Lense. Consumers point iWarranty app at an object (Fridge, washing machine, or other home appliances), recognise brand, product category and help consumers to add that to iWarranty consumer product wallet. Lense should allow users to onboard all home appliances within few minutes with 99.9% accuracy level. Neural pathways needs to be developed between lense-recognition- and then going and identifying products within our product catalogue. On 4th February 2022 the company submitted a second project titled Automation of Warranty Review & Claims Decision making. It aims is to build a machine learning algorithm that can identify commonalities and differences between different warranty terms based on some common data points. The company was referred to the Centre thanks to the ongoing relationship it has with Innovate UK and their coaching network. iWarranty's vision is to reduce consumer/household generated electronic waste globally. iWarranty's mission is to become the leading platform for consumers around the globe, helping to manage and access their warranty and repair rights and reduce consumer-produced e-waste. By enabling consumers to digitise their product information and access warranties on their phone, iWarranty is the first integrated platform to connect consumers with manufacturers and repairers so that they can make claims and access repair networks affordably and quickly. Leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning, iWarranty digitises warranties, automates claim processes, and creates significant time and cost savings for SME manufacturers and addresses the repair/e-waste problem at its root. The platform builds direct connectivity between consumers and manufacturers - bringing an end to decades-old, paper-based, manual legacy systems. New Net Zero and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) legislation requiring extended lifespan and repairability of household appliances for 10 years is driving the transition to a greener economy but significant challenges remain. Although more than 77% of people want to repair rather than replace items, there is no infrastructure for consumers to do so in an easy and timely way. iWarranty's advanced repair analytics transforms the consumer experience by helping to solve product faults in real-time, while allowing manufacturers to gather data about appliance failures ahead of time, providing valuable insights to guide manufacturers with spare-part production and delivery to minimise customer waiting time. While consumers are able to save time and money, manufacturers also benefit by providing superior post-sale customer care while keeping warranty management and new legislative compliance costs low and predictable. Seamless repairing and reuse of items is good for consumers, the economy, manufacturers and our planet. Recycling is important but only after we've gotten every bit of use out of a product. In May 2022 the faculty leads for the Data Science and AI Masters Project scheme met. The heads of faculty form the decision panel for approving projects during this funding round. The Centre informed the client that their project had not been accepted by the panel. Support was offered via email along with an invitation to engage further through other data analytics routes. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Enquiry from the National STEM Learning Centre and Network |
| 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 | On 11th August 2020 the Centre received an enquiry from the east of England regional lead for the STEM Learning Centre and Network, Leslie Whyte-Venables. Leslie reported that she attended the information webinar in February 2020 which covered the DAIV scheme. She found it very interesting and although not having a data project at the time, she has now reflected on the opportunity and would like to explore a partnership further. Leslie said 'We may be doing some work on 'student voice' related to working with the STEM Ambassadors programme and I wondered if this would be a suitable project to work with you on? Are the data analytics innovation vouchers still available please? The project we are considering may be based in Harlow in Essex if the University would be interested in engaging with us in some way?' Follow up information was provided and a consultation offered. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Enquiy from Mare Terra Ltd |
| 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 | On 16th February 2021 the Centre received a referral from BEST Growth Hub regarding Mare Terra Ltd. This referral is part of the Centre's commitment to supporting local economic growth through effective data analytics. A follow-up email was sent providing further information about the Data Analytics Innovation Vouchers as well as other ways to benefit from support provided by the researchers within the Centre. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Essex Life and Economy Lecture: Making Change Stick in Complex Collaboratives |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | On 28th October 2019, the Centre hosted the 2019 Essex Life and Economy Lecture: Making Change Stick in Complex Collaboratives. A Business and Local Government Data Research Centre lecture, organised in partnership with the Faculty of Social Sciences and Faculty of Science and Health at the University of Essex and Essex County Council. The lecture by Stephen Kavanagh, Chairman of World Class Policing, examined how entrenched approaches, introspective cultures and performance regimes can, if left unchallenged, undermine new cross cutting initiatives. 55 delegates from across the academic communities and public sector attended the session which included a networking drinks and live Q&A following the talk. Delegates included the University of Essex Vice Chancellor, senior team, Essex Centre for Data Analytics (ECDA), Deputy Lt. for Essex Nick Alston, Public Health England, Essex County Council, Open Road and many more. The event was supported via social media in order to widen impact and continue engagement. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Essex Youth Build DAIV Consultation |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | Essex Youth Build attended two of our workshops in 2019. Following this, the charity contacted the Centre to express an interest in applying for a grant funded data analytics project. The call focused on the charity's current data collection practices and limitations of paper records. We also discussed the key challenges they face and aims for any data analytics project. We recommended completing a data audit in order to understand what is currently being collected, where it is stored, format and responsible person. As all records are paper, the Centre advised moving to electronic records for more analytics potential. The Centre also encouraged the charity to attend future training sessions and workshops in order to continue building their skills sets and digital capacity. The programme of potential topics for 2020 webinars and training was very appealing to the charity's lead and they are keen to register in due course. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Expression of Interest from Essex 2020 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | On 25th February 2020 the Centre received an expression of interest from Lora Aziz regarding data analytics support required in order to evaluate the Essex 2020 programme of events. Specifically... Critically examines the success of programme and enables the council and partners to demonstrate a 'return on investment' - to secure future support for legacy initiatives. Chelmsford City Council already had two broad outcomes that can be extended to, and aligned with, the county's wider ambitions; they are flexible enough stretch to both grassroots community involvement while maintaining the strategic essence of Essex 2020's original legacy. These ambitions should be viewed as the medium to long term change we want to see: 1. Increased development in STEAM skills and higher career aspirations for Essex residents - especially children and young people. and 2. Celebrate Essex's past, existing and future heritage in science, engineering and innovation in new and creative ways. Supporting the development of the county's cultural identity. Essex 2020 proposes to: i. Increase the perceived values of creative skills and interdisciplinary working across all sectors ii. Improve visibility, awareness and pride of innovation in Essex iii. Grow confidence and success in seeking funding and investment (particularly for Science and Creativity related activities). iv. Encourage greater partnership working and collaboration (across sectors, district boundaries and disciplines) v. Develop understanding of STEAM through participation in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Maths related activities Support with the evaluation elements of the framework, toolkit and training plans to be rolled out across Essex. The EOI form was sent to the Centre Director for approval. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Expression of interest received from Essex County Council and CAB |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | On 24th February 2020 the Centre undertook a conference call with Charlotte Britton, Lead for Strengthening Communities. Kirsty O'Callaghan, Head of Strengthening Communities and Patrick Ruddy (Essex County Council). The call focused on scoping a potential research project and offering advice/support. This contact resulted from an existing stakeholder who we have worked with in the past. They are looking from BLG or wider UoE support for the evaluation of the project. Specifically: 'help with the evaluation of an initiative we (the council) are supporting that is looking at Access to Justice for All in relation to the Family Courts. We are seeking an approach to evaluation that assesses the intervention itself, but also a longer term study that looks at the impact the programme has on reducing the current costs borne by society around "family failures" - currently estimated at £51 billion [additional costs associated with benefits, housing support, police and education interventions, legal services, health care and social care -etc]' Full project/course outline is currently being briefed and at the point of the conference call v2 was shared. Two areas to evaluate: • Legal support • Benefit to families At the start of the project and looking at how to collect the data as well as evaluate. First cohort is in April. Also an interest in existing need and current experience of those in the system as well as scale of need - suggested Healthwatch Essex for this aspect. To evaluate the effectiveness of a proposed course delivered by CAB that seeks to support divorcing (or separating) couples with children. The course aims to promote awareness and skills building for one of the divorcing parents in order to achieve beneficial outcomes for affected children. The CAB's course will be completely client-centric and seeking the best possible outcomes for affected children. The course will be offered alongside a Legal Service offer provided by Central Law CIC, through the CAB's Background and Proposal: More than a third of new marriages will end within 20 years and four out of ten will ultimately end in divorce. More than one in four children will experience parental divorce by age 16. Divorce rates in England and Wales are among the highest in Europe, though considerably less than in the United States (where most research has been carried out). Research findings in the UK1 and in the US2 have identified that the majority of children adjust well to parental divorce with few long-term effects provided they receive appropriate support. Key factors affecting outcomes and that will be specifically addresses by the CL service include: • financial hardship - can limit educational achievement; • family conflict before, during and after separation - can contribute to behavioural problems; • parental ability to recover from distress of separation affects children's ability to adjust • multiple changes in family structure increase the probability of poor outcomes; • quality contact with the non-resident parent can improve outcomes. Programme content - Why it is Important to Offer Social Skills training for Parents: The programme plans to offer a soft skills transition planning element as a key deliverable within the services, supported by access to local and national support services and networks, including a closed Facebook peer support group). The content of the training course including referral access to local formal and informal networks will be trialled through a pilot programme in early 2020. The pilot programme is supported by the Community Legal Centre Essex (CAB affiliate) and Essex County Council. Psychology Today2 reported that enhanced parenting skills in an evidence-based divorce transition programme called the "New Beginnings Programme (NBP)" had significant impact on children's outcomes. The programme was designed to promote effective parenting following separation or divorce. The New Beginnings Programme focused on working with parents to achieve important parenting-related competencies, including using effective discipline, communicating and listening effectively, building more positive interactions, and keeping children out of the middle of the conflict. Assessments of children's outcomes at six years and 15 years (following divorce or separation) disclosed that the soft skills training programme had significant favourable impact on children's wellbeing and life opportunities - the findings are shown in the adjacent "New Beginnings Outcomes" table. For 2020-2023 it is presently planned to offer the Better Divorce course four times per year to about 20 participants per course x four. The Centre has sent the EOI to the directors for approval and agreement on proposed next steps. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Expression of interest received from Suffolk County Council |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | On 5th February 2020, the Centre met with Ruth Weir (lecturer and researcher in criminology and violence) to discuss interest in the DAIV scheme. Ruth disclosed Suffolk COunty COuncil is interested in undertaking a data analytics project to replicate the predictive analytics model created in Essex to address domestic abuse. Following the meeting Ruth introduced the Centre by email to Richard Baldwin and Clair Harvey of Suffolk COunty Council. Additional information was provided via email and the council was encouraged to register for the webinar. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Expression of interest received from West Midlands Violence Reduction Unit (WMVRU) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | On 6th December 2019, Jason Davies of West Midlands Violence Reduction UNit (WMVRU), contacted the Centre to invite us to tender for a commissioned evaluation project. To summarise, "The West Midlands Violence Reduction Unit (WMVRU) wants to commission an organisation who can support the development of and then deliver a detailed process and outcome evaluation of the work and strategy. The evaluation will need to produce robust findings which can be used to measure change locally and help to determine the future development of the WMVRU". An expression of interest form was sent to the Centre director for input. A holding statement was sent to Jason in the meantime. The Data Analytics Innovation Voucher (DAIV) application has been approved and the formal offer letter has been sent to the client and a Senior Research Officer has been assigned to work on the DAIV. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | HMG Emerging Technology Conference: Open Innovation Team |
| 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 | The HMG Emerging Technology Conference was an event organised by the Cabinet's Open Innovation Team in December 2022. The event was targeted at senior leadership of central government organisations and aimed to raise awareness of key enabling technologies such as artificial intelligence, data science and others and their potential for integration to government level activities to deliver a range of benefits to government and citizens, from efficiency to improved service delivery. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | HTN Webinar - 30th November 2021 - Social media as an early warning system for the NHS: Predict, prevent, protect |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | As part of the HTN Focus event, the Centre was invited to present on using data within the NHS. A number of topics were suggested and of interest to the HTN audience, many of which will be scheduled for 2022. On 30th November 2021 at 1.00pm the Centre and former BLG research officer Dr Farhana Liza delivered a webinar as part of the Health Tech Newspaper all-day session on "AI, Cyber Security, Analytics and Data". The agenda covered a number of areas including how: Adverse reactions are a serious matter high on the public agenda. Concerns over vaccine safety continue to reduce trust and risk impacting current and future national immunisation strategies.How data science can be applied to improve drug and vaccine safety. Is the current Yellow Card Scheme fit for purpose and could social media be used as an early warning system? This webinar will demonstrate how you can benefit from this organic evolution of data and how it is opening a new world of information for the NHS. The Centre also discussed how the NHS can access fully funded data analytics delivered by the Centre's data scientists. This webinar was delivered in partnership with the University of East Anglia and brought together the brightest minds in data research to address the key issues faced by healthcare today as well as the opportunities to harness the full potential of AI, machine learning and more. Case studies Case study 1: adverse reactions (statistics, pictures, NLP and the personal story behind each experience). Case study 2: unproven treatments - protecting the public. Case study 3: reducing the delay in NICE guidelines updates - supporting innovation. Case study 4: mental health or suicide prediction? detecting suicidality on Twitter - catching someone before they fall. Over 20 organisations attended the event live (virtually) and a recorded was posted on the HTN website as well as on the Centre YouTube channel to enhance impact. Engagement through the live Q&A as well as social media extended our audience reach. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Health Economics Study Group meeting - June 2019. Presentation and discussion of the working-paper "Promotions in Alcohol Sales: Lessons from the Scottish Experiment" |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | Around 40 people attended the session were the paper has been presented and discussed by an external reviewer. The presentation and referee's discussion sparked questions and discussions, showing a great interest in the topic and the method. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Healthwatch Essex AGM |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | On 29th October 2019, the Centre was invited to attend the healthwatch Essex AGM. The outreach and publicity officer is a board member for the charity and uses her role to create collaborative research opportunities and widen awareness of the Centre's work, reaching a new audience. The event was not only a formal AGM but was an opportunity to for the charity to showcase its research and impact. Delegates included Brian Balmer (Local Medical Council), Essex County Council, Farleigh Hospice, MHET, other NHS providers, care home leads, CQC, Big Lottery Fund and other charities as well as general public and Healthwatch Essex Ambassadors. The Centre was able to support the event via social media. The event was also the opportunity to talk about the work of the Centre and impact of its research. This resulted in new contacts being formed including Nick Richmond (Agile Research) who previously attended one of our workshops. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Healthwatch Essex Engagement Meeting |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | On 1st November 2019, the Centre facilitated a networking event for various departments within the university to present their work and opportunities for collaboration with Healthwatch Essex. Representatives included: Internships and student placements ESRC Business and Local Government Data Research Centre Public health risks: to communicate or not communicate? - research overview by Dr Kakia Chatsiou (ISER) EIRA ISER H&S Care Research Service UK Data Archive The session included round table discussions regarding data analytics and research opportunities as well as how they can directly influence policy and service delivery regionally. Feedback from delegates was very positive and conversations continued on social media as well as by email. Dr John Day Senior Research Associate for Healthwatch Essex said 'Thank you again for organising Friday, there was so much useful information that will improve the quality of our research work in the future and moving forward in partnership with the University. With our primary focus on lived experience research, the wealth of quantitative data you signposted us towards will help us refine our initial research questions and then also allow us to connect participant's stories to broader trends when proposing meaningful changes to policy.' |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Healthwatch Suffolk Men's Health Workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | On 18th November 2021 the Centre was invited to participate in an interactive virtual workshop organised by Healthwatch Suffolk in partnership with CHAPS Men's Health. The agenda included senior experience and knowledge from urologists, Chris Booth - Clinical Director of CHAPS Men's Health, David Akinsanya - health equality champion and Amanda Langley - Healthwatch Suffolk. The topics for discussion incorporated the lived experience, biomarkers for predictive analytics, the role of voluntary and healthcare services on disease prevention and improving health inequalities faced by men. The final part of the half day workshop involved several breakout groups: • Cardiovascular disease • Prostate cancer (and other urinary issues) • Blue-sky thinking • Voluntary sector The Centre was able to contribute to the breakout groups as well as the overall workshop both through the chat function and in the group activities. The engagement was extended through social media which widened the impact and awareness of our work. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Healthy New Towns Workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | On 25th october 2019 the Centre was invited to participate in the North Essex Garden Communities Healthy New Towns Learning and Implementation Workshop. This invitation only session involved national leads from NHS England as well as regional partners involved in the design and delivery of the town. Delegates included Sam Glover (PHE), North East Essex Health & Wellbeing Alliance, Police, Fire Service, NEE CCG members, LMC, third sector, Essex County Council and Essex lead for churches (representing religious communities in Essex). The interactive workshop involved discussing how to plan the vision for the Healthy New Towns initiatives as well as partners whom the leads need to engage for success. The event was an opportunity to promote the Centre and the use of research and data analytics both in the planning, delivery and evaluation of the project. From planning the design to predicting flow of people through to measuring health outcomes. Centre involvement was very well received. As a result of Centre participation, data analytics formed an underpinning theme through all group discussions and outcomes. The event was also an opportunity to network with other organisations and provide contact details. Within one day, a number of delegates have reached out to the Centre to request a consultation appointment to discuss working with us through the DAIV. NHS England's vision for the Health New Towns: "The North Essex Garden Communities development aims to enable current and future residents to live, work and play in ways which promote wellbeing and happiness. We will work with local communities to cultivate a sense of belonging, enabling healthier choices and minimising social isolation. The physical and social infrastructure of the community will be well maintained, sustainable and inclusive to ensure long-term wellbeing and happiness of all residents." |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | How data shaped the world's approach to COVID-19 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | On 15th July 2020 the Centre delivered a webinar on how data was used to shape the world's approach to COVID-19. This panel debate was recorded live and attracted 145 people who registered for the session. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way we all use data forever: from tracking Apps, scenario planning, resilience-building and capacity mapping through to using AI to find a vaccine. This panel discussion shines a light on the amazing and unexpected ways data is being used to fight COVID-19. Our experts also discussed and shared their views on what the future could hold for society and data in the face of pandemics. Plus attendees had the opportunity to have their questions answered live by the ESRC Business and Local Government Research Centre's senior research officers. Engagement continued online via Twitter and email. The webinar will be uploaded to the Centre's YouTube channel for future reference and to reach a wider audience. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | How to apply for grant funded data analytics support webinar |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | On 9th September 2020 the Centre delivered a webinar on how to apply for a Data Analytics Innovation Voucher. The webinar attracted over 45 organisations from across the world. These included businesses, public sector bodies and charities. An engaging presentation included case studies, the application process and top tips. A live Q&A and active chat box created further opportunities for engagement with the audience who shared positive feedback on the presentation slides and delivery. As a result of the webinar, Maidstone Council were amongst a number of organisations who have already contacted the Centre to arrange a consultation and request one to one follow up information. Impact extended beyond the webinar with social media (Twitter) postings being sent live from attendees. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | IADS Summer School |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | I gave a full day course on the topic of transfer learning in Natural Language Processing. This included explaining deep neural network architectures like Long Short Term Memory networks and Transformers. We covered the transformer-based models such as BERT and GPT-2. The course was split into two parts; theory and applied. In the theory part, I explained the evolution of transfer learning in NLP, and in the applied section I showed the attendees how to use and fine-tune pretrained models on datasets in Python. Every 1 to 1.5 hour was followed with QA, and at the very end of the course, we had a general discussion. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.iadssummerschool.com/ |
| Description | Industry and Parliamentary Trust |
| 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 | Between 1-10 people attended the breakfast meeting organized by the Industry and Parliamentary Trust. The event brings an expert panel that engages directly with members of the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The event focused on Digital Skills and Tech Talent. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Institute of Public Health and Wellbeing Challenge Lab 11th and 12th July 2022 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | On 11th and 12th July 2022 the Centre participated in a two day Challenge Lab: University of Essex Impact Acceleration Account (IAA) Institute of Public Health and Wellbeing (IPHW) "Health Inequalities" Challenge Lab. The Institute of Public Health and Wellbeing, in collaboration with the IAA, ran this Lab to enable teams of researchers and research users to collaborate, developing project proposals that address challenges set out by invited local public and third sector organisations. Representatives from several local public and third sector organisations will attend the Challenge Lab: Representative Organisation Lucy Wightman Essex County Council Clare Littleford A Better Start Southend Jeff Banks Mid and South Essex ICS Ella Humphris Colchester Borough Council Helen Clegg Community360 University of Essex attendees: Stephen Joseph School of Health and Social Care John De-Clerk Azure Essex Business School Zibiah Loakthar Department of Psychosocial and Psychoanalytic Studies Sophia Carbonero School of Health and Social Care Katie Daughters Department of Psychology Dragana Vidovic Department of Government Laura Brookes ESRC Business and Local Government Data Research Centre Angela Meadows Department of Psychology Karen Roehr-Brackin Department of Language and Linguistics Nicolas Geeraert Department of Psychology Veronica Lamarche Department of Psychology Tasos Papastylianou School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering / IPHW Kate Powis Research and Enterprise Office Organisers: Martin Brooks University of Essex Impact Acceleration Account Manager Mariachiara di Cesare Director, Institute of Public Health and Wellbeing Robert Stawski Deputy Director, Institute of Public Health and Wellbeing Victoria Nolan Executive Officer, Institute of Public Health and Wellbeing Three key inequalities challenge themes were addressed during the workshop. 1. Stigma and psychological barriers - how awareness and access to mental health care is hindered by psychological barriers and their impact on inequality and equity in mental health 2. Beyond co-production - how to integrate co-production across systems to reduce health inequalities 3. Modifiable life-course factors - how to tackle the social determinants of health to reduce inequalities across the life course The outcome of the Challenge Lab was that groups of external stakeholders and academics submitted proposals for grant funded research. Engagement extended beyond the event itself and included social media contact as well as several follow up meetings being arranged in order to explore wider collaborative research and/or training and follow on workshops with the Centre and its experts. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | International Day for Universal Access to Information: Artificial Intelligence, e-Governance and Access to Information |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Prof Fasli was a panel moderator and speaker at th eInternational Day for Universal Access to Information: Artificial Intelligence, e-Governance and Access to Information conference organised by UNESCO in Tashkent, Uzbekistan and contributed to the Tashkent Declaration. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://events.unesco.org/event?id=1031265894 |
| Description | International Society for Clinical Biostatistics (ISCB) conference presentation. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | I presented research findings on dynamic prediction of long-term survival effects of statin therapy in the general population. This was a poster presentation during a full conference day and about 80 conference attendees passed by. The discussion with the audience helped me improving the message of the research paper I was writing at the time. I also received interest in sharing the research paper once it is published. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://kuleuvencongres.be/iscb40/images/iscb40-2019-e-versie.pdf |
| Description | Introduction to Python |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | A three-day Introduction to Python course attended by practitioners from Suffolk County Council, Suffolk NHS Foundation, and East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust (ESNEFT). The course covered data structures and data loading and wrangling, conditional Data wrangling and visualization. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Introduction to Python #2 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | A three-day Introduction to Python course attended by practitioners from Suffolk County Council. The course covered data structures and data loading and wrangling, conditional Data wrangling and visualization. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Keynote Talk at the CloudTech 2020 conference: Data Science and AI: Trends, Myths and Challenges |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Prof Fasli gave a keynote talk in the CloudTech 2020 conference Data Science and AI: Trends, Myths and Challenges aimed at explaining to the audience which consisted of academics, practitioners, professionals and postgraduate students the fundamentals of AI, trends in the development of the technology, but also common misconceptions and pitfalls in attempting to put the technologies into practice. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | http://macc.ma/cloudtech20/ |
| Description | Keynote presentation: Healthcare Applications and Technology Acceptance at Confluence 2023 Amity University |
| 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 | More than 100 people (students, academics and people from industry) attended the keynote speech by Dr Aikaterini (Katerina) Bourazeri, Lecturer in Computer Science and AI. There was a great interest for future collaborations and these are being discussed further. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://www.amity.edu/aset/confluence2023/ |
| Description | Keynote talk at the Advanced Intelligent Systems for Sustainable Development Conference 2021 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Prof Fasli delivered a keynote talk at the Advanced Intelligent Systems for Sustainable Development Conference in January 2021. He presentation on advanced methodologies and techniques for data science and artificial intelligence sparked a discussion among participants. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | http://conferences.academyskills.net/ai2sd/index.html |
| Description | Levelling Up Essex Challenge Lab |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | On 4th October 2022 the Centre facilitated a challenge lab focused on the priorities outlined in the Levelling Up Essex strategy written by Essex County Council. This one-day workshop was an unique opportunity to use your expertise to reduce inequalities across the county. Representatives from Essex County Council joined selected academics from the University of Essex to formulate research project ideas that address one or more priority areas outlined in the Levelling Up white paper. This practical and engaging workshop enabled delegates to shape the direction of research and inform local policy and practice. During the day, delegates worked in teams to shape an outline research project and pitch the concept to the Essex County Council funding panel. The Challenge Lab formed the foundations of a full research project application submitted within 2 weeks after the event, which will (subject to approval), be funded by the Council. These funded research projects will provide valuable insight and actionable outcomes that will be used to influence policy and practice. The results will be presented in formal written reports to the funder and selected University leads, and disseminated to a broad audience of stakeholders using creative media. There were five broad themes for the Levelling Up Challenge Lab: • Economy • Environment • Health and wellbeing • Education and skills • Families and communities To find out more about the Levelling Up Essex white paper please visit: https://www.essex.gov.uk/plans-and-strategies/levelling-up-essex-strategy Feedback from the Challenge Lab was very positive and a wide range of research expertise and council representatives joined the workshop with conversations extending beyond the day for lasting impact through research. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Lobbying with Data- DRIVA Arts DRIVA |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Dr Haider Raza was invited by the University of Brighton "DRIVA" (Digital Research & Innovation Value Accelerator) project to be a panellist member representing the Business and Local Government Data Research Centre (BLG DRC) and The Institute for Analytics Data Science (IADS), also based at The University of Essex. Haider and fellow panellist discussed a range of Data Science topics and how algorithms are used to gain insights from the derived data. Haider gave a brief introduction to BLG DRCs Data Analytics Innovation Vouchers (DAIV) and organisations like Essex Police and Unum (a large B-to-B insurer) had applied and benefited from the grant funding, having provided significant impact and insight into their respective organisations. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZC8ddOhyZ00 |
| Description | Masters DAIV application from Healthwatch Essex |
| 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 | On 16th June 2021 the Centre received an application form related to the Data Science and AI Project Placement scheme: Masters DAIV from John Day and Sam Glover of Healthwatch Essex. The project proposed will focus on building on their existing research and specifically their men's health programme. Through studying men's experiences of living with obesity, the objectives of the research were to investigate: 1. Experiences of gaining/losing weight (weight cycling) in relation to weight management practices and services accessed 2. How men come to see themselves as living with obesity 3. Motives behind why men engage with/avoid/drop-out of weight management services and the potential implications for men's engagement (or lack of) with health services in general. The application form was submitted to the panel for approval on 16th June 2021. On 3rd August the Centre contact the client to inform them of the decision made by the panel. Unfortunately the project was rejected as it did not have a strong enough data science or AI theme. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Media Activity 1 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | In the summer of 2020 I published a newspaper article entitle "Coronavirus Pandemic and the Greater Essex Economic Outlook" for Business Time in Essex. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Media Activity 2 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | During the Covid pandemic I have been quoted several times in the Eastern Daily Press commenting on the regional economy. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020,2021 |
| Description | Meeting with BEST Growth Hub - Horizon Unit |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | On 24th June 2021 the Centre met virtually with Chris Murphy of BEST Growth Hub Horizon Unit to discuss future collaborative research. The new unit focuses on the collection of data for analysis that will inform council business support strategies, market analysis and economic growth strategies in Essex. Chris submitted an application for the Data Science and AI Project Placement: Masters DAIV on 1st July 2021. On 4th August 2021 the directors requested further information on the data available in order to approve the project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Meeting with Digital Skills Partnership Lead |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | On 7th January 2020 the Centre met with Jim (James) Wilkinson Digital Skills Partnership Co-ordinator, South East Local Enterprise Partnership to discuss how thew partnership are int he process of formulating their strategy for 2020 and beyond. The Centre has been invited to become a member of the Digital Skills Partnership to represent data analytics and research. This will result in a wider network of stakeholder for partnerships moving forward as well as intelligence gathering. Partnership members will also commit to support the DAIV scheme by enabling more referrals for projects from businesses and public sector bodies as well as supporting the promotion and delivery of sector events. The Centre has been invite to attend the next steering group in February 2020 to formally speak to members about the expertise provided by the Centre. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Meeting with Haven Gateway |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | On 9th January 2020 the Centre met with Janice Pittis of Haven Gateway to share best practice around data analytics and sector engagement. The meeting included sharing ideas for future collaborative outreach and engagement events, training sessions and knowledge exchange activities to benefit the business community in the east of England. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Ministry of Parenting DAIV Application |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | On 5th March 2020, the Centre sent Jeannie Gordon Ministry of Parenting the decision email following her recent DAIV application. The Centre thanked Jeannie for her time and reported... 'Applications are assessed on the feasibility of the project, how your project objectives align to the priority areas of the Business and Local Government Data Research Centre, as well as the potential for the project to have a wider societal or sector benefit. Whilst we understand this will be disappointing news, we would like to provide you with feedback on your project. Your project aimed at understanding the MoP Impact. The board finds that this is an important subject and a good proposal. We reviewed the application multiple times and our conversation with you as well as the snapshot of your data were very useful. Unfortunately, we believe that there will not be sufficient information in the data to successfully complete your project. For this project to be successfully completed, we would need more data and observations to be completed. This would allow us to provide a more in-depth analysis that would give a better assessment of your organisation's true impact. As mentioned, we think this is valuable proposal and we would be interested in receiving another application once this data is available.' Jeannie was further signposted to other services such as workshops and webinars. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | NLIP Research Day (incorporating the 19th Annual Language And Computation Day) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | An annual research day hosted by the NLP group at the University of Essex (through zoom this time around). This meeting is held at the start of Autumn term every year to bring everyone together and foster interaction between new and returning members and invited speakers. On this day, I gave a talk on my latest research work under the title "Textual Data Augmentation for Efficient Active Learning on Tiny Datasets." |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Omni Colchester Business Networking Event |
| 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 | On 16th July 2020 the Centre attended the Omni Colchester Networking event. The session attracted 17 businesses across the county. The Centre was personally invited by John Gower lead for the Colchester brand of Omni. The virtual networking sessions included the opportunity to talk to businesses about the Centre and the expertise it provides as well as make new connections, promoting the value of data analytics. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Outreach and Engagement - Tendring4Growth |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | On 26th November 2019 the centre participated in the Tendring District Council Economic Growth Strategy Workshop. A range of stakeholder attended the session led by Head of Regeneration at the council and the economic growth team. Tom Gardiner (Head of Regeneration) passed on his contact details following the centre's contribution to the Q&A. Stakeholders included local businesses, charities, clinical commissioning groups, education and Essex County Council. Interesting debates covered how data can inform strategy to support economic growth predict skills demand and utilize resource more effectively as well as evaluate the impact of initiatives. Since the workshop, the centre has contacted Tom via email to arrange a follow up meeting. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Outreach and Engagement: Learn Fest - Essex County Council |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | On 15th November, the centre was invited to deliver a presentation to Essex County Council commissioners as part of their annual Learn Fest. The session attracted a range of senior commissioners including 10 delegates from departments such as frailty, economic growth, integration, health, dementia and finance. The centre presented to the group, covering the full scope of projects and data analytics support provided. The presentation also included a mind-mapping and group discussion elements focusing on the council's priorities for 2020. This part of the session scoped themes for potential challenge labs. Areas of interest included frailty and admission avoidance as well as deprivation and short/medium and long terms intervention success in towns experiencing poverty. Resources were provided and Stephen Simpkin (Data lead) plans to collate the feedback in order to channel interest into a challenge lab theme. A number of senior staff were unable to attend the meeting and so we plan to deliver the same session again by webinar in 2020. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Outreach and Engagement: Learn Fest - Essex County Council competition |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | On 15th November 2019, the centre was involved in the Live Data Analytics as part of Essex County Council's Learn Fest. The session was with the data analytics team and ECDA. It was a fun competition where the delegates were put into teams for a data related challenge. The teams had to apply their data analytics skills learnt during training sessions delivered by the centre during 2018-19. The teams were each led by one of our researchers who acted as a critical friend during the competition. The end result was increased engagement with the data analytics teams and social media to widen impact. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Outreach and Engagement: Policy Masterclass |
| 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 | On 14th November 2019, the centre participated in the Cabinet Office policy masterclass. The University of Essex has a partnership with the Cabinet Office's Open Innovation Team which gives us unique access to senior policy advisors in Whitehall Departments. The partnership aims to build relationships with government departments to generate analysis and ideas in key policy areas. Cabinet Office colleagues ran the policy masterclass. The session included an introduction to the policy process which take a very practical view. The centre participated in table top discussions and contributed to the overall session as well as had the opportunity to network with researchers from various departments. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Panel Member for the Catalyst Conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | The Catalyst Conference was delivered as part of the Catalyst HEFCE-funded project at the University of Essex in June 2019. I was invited to participate in the conference and be a panel member with the theme "Digital innovation within local government implementing system change, and the importance of collaborative multi-agency partnerships". The panel included representatives from Essex Police, Essex County Council and Suffolk County Council and aimed to explore both opportunities and barriers to innovation and supporting public policy through advanced analytics and the importance of collaboration. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Paper presentation at the 44th Virtual Scientific Meeting of the International Society of Political Psychology (ISPP), July 11 - July 13, 2021 "Out of Group, Out of Mind? The Radius of generalized trust, intergroup attitudes, and behaviour" |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | 60 people attended a session which sparked questions and discussions - an increase in interest was reported. 35 attended this panel and we had an interesting academic discussion about intergroup relations and specifically methodological concerns surrounding research in this theme. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://ispp.org/meetings/2021-Virtual |
| Description | Parent Cloud DAIV Consultation |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Following social media engagement in September 2019, the Centre facilitated a conference call with Parent Cloud. The call was an opportunity to introduce the Centre and the work we do as well as opportunities to collaborate. We discussed the DAIV application project as well as potential data analytics projects. As a result of the call, the Centre sent Obi (Parent Cloud lead) the DAIV application form for completion. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Participating in Fundamentals of Analytics |
| 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 | On 4th February 2020, the Centre attended a networking workshop organised to Colbea and Footprint Digital. The theme was fundamental in analytics. Companies and third sector organisations from across Essex attended the workshop, with over 15 in attendance. The Centre was able to promote its work and contribute to topical debate on the analytics. The event was also an opportunity to pick up on intelligence regarding sector need and interest. This insight will be used to inform future Centre driven workshops and podcasts. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Participation in the Digital Skills Partnership Steering Group |
| 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 12th February 2020 the Centre attended the Digital Skills Partnership Steering Group which was hosted following the 'Two's Company: the what, whys and hows of digital twins in industry today and tomorrow' conference. As a new member Digital Skills Partnership, this was an opportunity to meet other steeping group members who represented organisations across the east of England including private, public and not-for-profits. In attendance was the Federation of Small Businesses and the Government Minister for Digital Skills. The group discussed the strategy underpinning the DSP and its vision for the coming year. We explored how key partners can enhance digital skills working with schools, future and current workforces as well as businesses. The Centre is offering data analytics insight and support. As well as networking with delegates, each member received a Centre branded resource pack providing information on our work, impact and contact details. The wider conference which took place before the steering group had over 60 delegates from across the UK. Presenters included the national lead for the AHSN Network Artificial Initiative - Melissa Ream, INdustry Engagement Manager, Kent Innovation and Enterprise, University of Kent - Simon F Barnes, External Technology and Collaborations Lead, Pfizer - Melissa Hanna-Brown, Jaguar Land Rover Virtual reality and High-end Visualization Technical Lead - Brian Waterfield, South East Local Enterprise Partnership - James Wilkinson, St Bartholomew's Hospital - Profession Art Tucker, Innovate UK, Innovation Lead Precision Medicine - Dr Karen Spink and Industry Executive, Health at Microsoft - Stephen Docherty. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Presentation at the 7th International Conference on Business and Economic Issues. Presentation title: Cost of menstural hygiene practices in Gujarat, India |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | On 25th September 2021, Dr Smruti Bulsari presented at the 7th International Conference on Business and Economic Issues. Her presentation title was 'Cost of menstrual hygiene practices in Gujarat, India'. The event attracted an international audience and was organised in partnership with the International Review of Business and Economics, Society of Indian Academics in America. Oakland University Rochester and Institute for Humane Studies Arlington. Engagement extended onto social media and thus created a ripple effect. Feedback from attendees was very positive. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Presentation at the Accelerators for Science and Society Symposium, Liverpool |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | I was invited to deliver a talk on Data Science and Artificial Intelligence and their applications and impact on our lives as part of the Accelerators for Science and Society Symposium which took place in Liverpool on 28-29 June. This event involved a number of keynote lectures delivered by scientists with the purpose being to inform students of exciting developments in science and technology and how our lives are being impacted. Hundreds of school children attended the event and it was also broadcasted live. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://indico.cern.ch/event/798052/ |
| Description | Presentation at the University of West Attica workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Presentation as part of the "Emerging communication networks and distributed application environments" workshop at the University of West Attica, Greece in February 2023. AI and data science, their applications and impact on society. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Presentation during virtual workshop with Always Possible: Lobbying with data: How data can help businesses influence policy (ONLINE ROUNDTABLE) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | On 2nd July 2020 the Centre presented at a virtual round table. Representing the Centre, Haider Raza spoke about his experience of using data to influence policy and practice. The event was facilitated by Always Possible and was marketed as: Politicians, we are now told, simply 'follow the science'. But with ever-increasing reams of data and useful insights, are businesses presenting the evidence they have to the people that make critical decision on economics, society, culture and law? Some businesses might not realise the value of the data they have generated. Policy-makers might be stuck using out-of-date insights when making future forecasts. We want to explore what a more positive, joined-up data flow looks like. The questions we'll be asking are: • Do policy-makers know how to use business data for long-term planning? • How do policy makers use data to make decisions - examples of a policy change or project that has come about directly as a result of decision makers being presented with specific data? • What tools help entrepreneurs to get their data understood by the 'right people'? • How can businesses work together to gather and aggregate data to influence policy - what sort of data might be helpful for different types of businesses? |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Presentation of research work at the International Conference on Computational Linguistics (COLING) 2022 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | International Conference on Computational Linguistics targets advanced research in the domain of Natural Language Processing. I presented my work in the paper "Enhancing Task-Specific Distillation in Small Data Regimes through Language Generation" in front of an audience of other researchers. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://coling2022.org/ |
| Description | Presentation to Cranfield Trust CEO Leadership Programme on Digital Destiny |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | On 22nd June 2020, the Centre delivered a presentation to CEOs of charities across the east of England as part of a programme provided by Cranfield Trust. Dawn Harrison Wallis requested the Centre be a guest speaker on their development programme to talk to leaders about digital transformation and data. The session covered a broad range of areas as well as highlighting the support available through the DAIV (and other) scheme. Over 10 charities from across the east of England attended the virtual workshop. Feedback was very positive. Engagement continued online via social media and a number of delegates expressed an interest in the upcoming webinars and future virtual workshops. The Cranfield Trust is also interested in formally partnering with the Centre to widen digital and data understanding for the third sector. Attendees included: Changing Pathways - Tracy Vallis (interim CEO) Essex Youth Build - Robert Mitchell (Interim CEO) Home-Start Essex - Nic O'Brien (CEO) Helping Hands Essex - Chris Wright (CEO) Action For Family Carers - James Clarke (CEO) Mind In West Essex - Emma Wardall (Online Training Manager, Mind in West Essex Project Lead, The Essex Alliance Deputising for CEO for Alison Wilson) Citizens Advice Essex - Martin Lord (Director of Development) Your Living Room - Diane Boyd (Director) Support 4 Sight - Gary Hyams (CEO) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Presentation to Healthwatch Essex |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | On 28th April 2021, the Centre delivered a presentation to over 18 members of the Healthwatch Essex team. The talk focused on the importance of data analytics in the context of health and care service development. The presentation was accompanied by a workshop style activity delivered virtually (due to COVID19 social distancing guidelines). As a result of the presentation, Healthwatch Essex is interested in partnering with the Centre, wider ESRC and the University of Essex to combine their lived experience research with novel data science for wider impact. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Presentation to the Business Women's Network on 24th April 2020 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | On 24th April 2020 the Centre presented at the virtual Business Women's Network event on the importance of data, creating a data strategy and the support provided by the Centre. The presentation was well received. Over 15 members from across the UK attended the session. Each delegate represented a different business from a range of sectors. As a result of presenting to the network, the Centre has received a number of follow up questions, interest in the DAIV and new attendees for the webinars coming up during 2020. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Presentation to the Strategy, Insight and Engagement Group meeting with Essex County Council |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | On 21st January 2020 the Centre was invited to present to the Strategy, Insight and Engagement Group of Essex County Council Members include various departments encompassing analytics and strategy. The group also included partners of the council. The group consists of 20-50 members of which 20 were in the room during the presentation. The presentation focused on the work of the Centre and its unique offer for the public sector. The formal presentation finished with a Q&A. An engaged audience were keen to share the resources and information provided with colleagues more widely, including external stakeholders. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Provided a full day course for the 2022 IADS Summer School |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | I gave a full day course on the topic of transfer learning in Natural Language Processing (NLP). This included explaining deep neural network architectures like Long Short Term Memory networks and Transformers. We covered the transformer-based models such as BERT and GPT-2. The course was split into two parts; theory and applied. In the theory part, I explained the evolution of transfer learning in NLP, and in the applied section we did hands-on coding where I showed the attendees how to use and fine-tune pretrained models on datasets in Python. Every 1 to 1.5 hour was followed with QA, and at the very end of the course, we had a general discussion. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.iadssummerschool.com/ |
| Description | Public Sector Leaders Summit |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | In September 2022 the Centre organised and facilitated the Public Sector Leaders Summit. This afternoon of presentations and networking included representatives from across the University of Essex who presented the various benefits and routes to collaboration. The Summit invited key leaders from Essex County Council. As well as presentations and an informal networking lunch, delegates were given a suite of resources within an information pack to further facilitate engagement beyond the event. Led by Prof Alex Florez (Deputy Director for the Business and Local Gov Data Research Centre), the Summit was well received and conversations continue beyond stakeholders to explore collaborative research, training and data analytics. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Reimagining Yourself in the Data Revolution |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Between 50 to 100 people attended a session of Essex County Council Learn Festival 2020. The presentation covered the opportunity to use social media data, as well as techniques to analyze it. In particular, we covered sentiment analysis using text data from Twitter. The attendants were highly motivated by the technical content and were interested in further conversations with the BLG. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | SELEP Virtual Business Event |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | On 9th July 2020 the Centre presented on Data Protection and Monitoring as part of the South East LEP virtual workshop. Designed to help businesses or charities thrive in a post Covid, post Brexit, connected world. Organised by the Digital Skills Partnership for the South East for organisations in Kent, East Sussex and Essex, we have a fantastic line-up of six speakers who will be covering these topic areas: 1. Building an effective business strategy 2. Creativity in the workplace 3. Successful content creation 4. Networking (online and offline) 5. Understanding digital advertising 6. Data protection and monitoring Over 80 organisations attended the event. Dr Guinchard represented the Centre along with Laura Brookes to cover the importance of data, data protection as well as to promote the upcoming webinars and other opportunities to collaborate with the Centre in the future. Conversations and engagement continued online via social media. All delegates also received a follow up email of useful resources, including links to the Centre and our work. Being an active speaker at the event served to strengthen our relationship with SELEP and Digital Skills Partnership. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Same data, different results webinar |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | On 18th January 2022 the Centre delivered a webinar as part of the HTN Now virtual event. Over 30 different organisations attended the live webinar which received good feedback from all. Engagement was further extended via live social media postings and a recording of the webinar will be available on the Centre YouTube channel as well as HTN website. Based on HTN trends to date, they predict that their website videos receive more views than live recordings due to the nature of delegates, many of whom work in the NHS with conflicting priorities preventing them from attending live webinars in the day. The webinar not only served to inform the views about the challenges of data analytics and understanding results but was also an opportunity to promote the Centre's various grant funded support schemes and launch of the Data Analytics Innovation Vouchers and Masters DAIV projects 2022. The webinar further strengthened the Centre's engagement with the healthcare and tech industries, reaching new audiences across the sector. Webinar description: Data analysis continues to form an important part of NHS decision making both at an operational and strategic level. From making clinical decisions, developing new drugs to creating new patient pathways and measuring impact. This makes the reliability of results crucial as we strive forward to improve patient care. From publications to clinical pictures, drawing conclusions from data can change the trajectory of the NHS. But how can the same data lead to vastly different results? What implications does this have on staff and patients? Join us as we untangle the complexities of analysis and learn how to trust the results with award-winning Senior Research Officer Dr Smruti Bulsari (Business and Local Government Data Research Centre). Through interactive case studies and practical examples, Dr Bulsari will not only uncover the challenges but also potential solutions when examining the robustness of the methodology used in research, which can have potential implications on the nature of treatment and burden on NHS Staff. You will also find out how you can access fully funded data analytics delivered by the Business and Local Government Data Research Centre. Plus have your questions answered live by the researchers working behind the scenes to understand your data and produce results you can trust for better decision making. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Seminar on Employing Big Data Analytics in Economics |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | A seminar on the topic "Employing Big Data Analytics in Economics" was delivered on being invited by the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai (India). The seminar was organized in a hybrid mode and live streaming was done through YouTube. There were around 20 participants in face-to-face mode and 12 in online (over a Zoom call). The participants were interactive and generated discussions in-between the seminar. My ongoing research on modelling unemployment using different classification algorithms, the limitations of the techniques used, and a plan for using techniques to improve the results were discussed in this seminar. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeupAlKHuLU |
| Description | Social Media during Social Isolation |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | On 18th May 2020 the Centre delivered a webinar featuring social media researcher Shaaba Lotun. 113 organisations from across the world registered for the webinar which included a research driven debate and live Q&A. Engagement was enhanced through the use of social media following the live webinar. The webinar is planned to be posted on YouTube to extend the impact further. Topic description: Join us for a lunch and learn discussion, as we explore the changing role of social media during COVID-19. Research shows the detrimental impact that isolation and loneliness can have on mental health. Within the context of COVID19 lockdown, we ask the important questions on everyone's mind... Have the social isolation measures left us feeling less connected than ever and what role has social media played? Has social media added fuel to the panic over COVID-19 or acted as a tool to connect communities during the lockdown? Will COVID19 leave a lasting negative ripple effect spanning both physical and mental health? Or has the pandemic brought people together over unexpected shared experiences? We will discuss this and much more with social media researcher Shaaba Lotun, plus join the debate live, share your tips for using social media and taking care of your health. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Social Return on Investment (SROI): Demonstrating your organisation's value Webinar |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This Webinar was delivered by Dr Kakia Chatsiou as part of a demand led series helping the Third Sector to gain a better understanding of Social Return on Investment (SROI): Demonstrating your organisation's value, specifically addressing the data sets and methods of calculating, including calculations from third party's. Many of the participants lacked the analytical skills and knowledge, so the webinar addressed the fundamentals, including the provision of resources which was well received by the participants, including international participants. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Tendring Speed Networking with Essex Fire and Rescue |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | On 3rd March 2020, the Centre participated in the quarterly Essex Fire and Rescue led speed networking session. The event brought together over 25 organisations from across Essex to network with peers, discuss the work of their teams and form new connections for future referrals, partnerships and collaboration. In attendance included Get Out Tendring, Realise Futures, Essex Mind, Jaywick Neighbourhood Warden, Clacton Coastal Academy, Tendring Hygience Bank, Tendring Time Bank, Essex, Fire Service, Barnardos, Phoenix Futures, Essex Shed Network, United in Kind, Admiral Nurse, Essex Council Council. Peabody, Inclusion Ventures, Jaywick Sands Revival, ASC Social Work, Action for Family Carers, North East Essex CCG and Age UK. The event was an opportunity to promote the work of the Centre including DAIVs, workshops and the annual conference. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | The 2020 Conference on Empirical Methods in Natural Language Processing - EMNLP 2020 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Presented my paper "Textual Data Augmentation for Efficient Active Learning on Tiny Datasets" |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://2020.emnlp.org/ |
| Description | The Cultural Engine CIC but applying on behalf of Southend YMCA |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | Giles Tofield from The Cultural Engine CIC but applying on behalf of Southend YMCA contacted the BLG DRC with a specific interest in finding-out more information about our Data Analytics Innovation Voucher (DAIV) scheme. Consultation call arranged with Giles and Kakia on 4/11/2020 talked in high level terms about shaping the research question that Southend YMCA needed answering and if there is available clean data to support the research question. Also discussed was the Data Sharing Agreement and Ethical clearance that would need to be obtained, including the relationship between The Cultural Engine CIC and Southend YMCA. Suggested that Giles discusses in more detail with Southend YMCA and completes the Expression of Interest so we can make a qualified assessment of their proposed project. We are waiting for the client to complete the EOI before proceeding further. 3.6.21 - The Expression of Interest form as completed and approved. The client was sent feedback and the full DAIV application form. 8.6.21 - The Centre facilitated a consultation with the deputy director and senior researcher to discuss how we can best move forward with the project given the challenges the face in preparing the data for suitable analysis. 21.6.21 - Syrie submitted an expression of interest application form in order to take part in the Data Science and AI Project Placement scheme: Masters DAIV. The application will be submitted at the end of the funding round (30th June 2021). 3.8.21 - the Centre informed the client that the decision panel had rejected their application. Further feedback was provided with support. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Training Programme on Introduction to R |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Data Professionals from Suffolk County Council, Norfolk County Council and Healthwatch Suffolk participated in this training programme. There were 11 participants in this training programme. Topics on data wrangling, introduction to dplyr package and data wrangling with dplyr, measures of central tendency and dispersion, and generating some commonly used charts were covered in this training in the training programme spanning over three days. The sessions were interactive and the participants were given an hands-on experience of working with R. The training programme was conducted online over Microsoft Teams. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Training Programme on Introduction to R |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | A three-days training programme on Introduction to R was attended by the employees of ESNEFT, Suffolk County Council, Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust and Healthwatch Suffolk. Topics on data wrangling, introduction to dplyr package and data wrangling with dplyr, measures of central tendency and dispersion, and generating some commonly used charts were covered in this training. The participants were given a hands-on experience on working with datasets related to healthcare. Their questions and errors encountered by them during hands-on exercise was taken up, then and there, which made the sessions very interactive. The training was conducted over Microsoft Teams. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Training Programme on Introduction to R |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Data Professionals from Suffolk County Council, Norfolk County Council, Norfolk Police and NHS participated in this training programme. There were 12 participants in this training programme. Topics on data wrangling, introduction to dplyr package and data wrangling with dplyr, measures of central tendency and dispersion, and generating some commonly used charts were covered in this training in the training programme spanning over three days. The sessions were interactive and the participants were given an hands-on experience of working with R. The training programme was conducted online over Microsoft Teams. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Training: Data Science - Transport for West Midlands |
| 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 | On 4th November 2019, the Centre delivered a training session to Transport for West Midlands. This brought together a range of partners from data analytics teams across the the west midlands including Public Health England, Councils, Transport and crime. An interactive workshop providing delegates with intermediate level training on R designed to build upon previous training delivered by the Business and Local Government Data Research Centre. Introduction Regression Classification Cross-validation 15 delegates attended a very well received training session. During lunch, discussions turned to wider collaborative projects such as challenge labs and DAIVs as well as further training for 2020. The nature of the sessions would be to directly inform data analytics teams and build expertise to address key challenges. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Training: Enhancing R - Norfolk and Suffolk Constabularies |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | On 14th November 2019, the Centre delivered an interactive training session to Norfolk and Suffolk Constabularies. 8 delegates from the data analytics teams from the partner constabularies attended the session delivered by Dr Philipp Broniecki and Dr Luke Abbs. The session built upon previous sessions delivered to the constabularies. feedback from the constabularies data analytics lead (Ben Terry) was very positive and he is keen to engage with the centre moving forward. The teams plan to use the skills learnt to enhance their data analytics capacity to explore a number of projects including county lines, knife crime and understanding trends in crime data. The agenda included:Introduction to the Session Subset selection Regularisation Tree-Based Methods Model Averaging Hackaton Prediction Exercise It is also worth noting that the constabulary has expressed an interest in undertaking a challenge lab in 2020 which is currently being explored with the outreach lead. All training delegates reported an improved understanding and scored the session 8 or more out of 10. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Training: Enhancing R - Transport for West Midlands |
| 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 | On 5th November 2019, the Centre delivered a training session to Transport for West Midlands. This brought together a range of partners from data analytics teams across the the west midlands including Public Health England, Councils, Transport and crime. An interactive workshop providing delegates with intermediate level training on R designed to build upon previous training delivered by the Business and Local Government Data Research Centre. 8 delegates attended a very well received training session. During lunch, discussions turned to wider collaborative projects such as challenge labs and DAIVs as well as further training for 2020. The nature of the sessions would be to directly inform data analytics teams and build expertise to address key challenges. The training included: Subset selection Regularisation Tree-based methods Monte Carlos Hackaton Prediction Exercise |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Training: Introduction to Data Science - Norfolk and Suffolk Constabularies |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | On 12th November 2019, the Centre delivered an interactive training session to Norfolk and Suffolk Constabularies. 8 delegates from the data analytics teams from the partner constabularies attended the session delivered by Dr Philipp Broniecki and Dr Luke Abbs. The session built upon previous sessions delivered to the constabularies. feedback from the constabularies data analytics lead (Ben Terry) was very positive and he is keen to engage with the centre moving forward. The teams plan to use the skills learnt to enhance their data analytics capacity to explore a number of projects including county lines, knife crime and understanding trends in crime data. The agenda included: Introduction to the Session Cross-Validation Regression Classification All delegates reported an improvement in understanding. it is also worth noting that the constabulary has expressed an interest in undertaking a challenge lab in 2020 which is currently being explored with the outreach lead. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Training: Introduction to SQL - Transport for West Midlands and Partners |
| 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 | On 13th January 2020 the Centre facilitated a training session for Transport for West Midlands and partners including Coventry City Council, West Midlands Police, Walsall Council, West Midlands Combined Authority, Birmingham City Council, Sandwell Council and Black Country Consortium. This was an interactive workshop providing delegates with intermediate level training on R designed to build upon previous training delivered by the Business and Local Government Data Research Centre. The agenda included: Introduction to SQL Key components of SQL Server Single table SELECT statements Multi-table SELECT statements DML statements The session was well received, with all delegates reporting an improved understanding of SQL and awareness of the Centre and its work. The session resulted from continued engagement with Jason Davies who is also involved in the regional data analyst group and crime reduction unit. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Training: The Application of SQL - Transport for West Midlands and Partners |
| 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 | On 14th January 2020 the Centre facilitated a training session for Transport for West Midlands and partners including Coventry City Council, West Midlands Police, Walsall Council, West Midlands Combined Authority, Birmingham City Council, Sandwell Council and Black Country Consortium. This was an interactive workshop providing delegates with intermediate level training on R designed to build upon previous training delivered by the Business and Local Government Data Research Centre. The agenda included: Queries that aggregate data Sub-queries Creating/implementing views Using set operators to combine query results Creating/implementing stored procedures Adding programming constructs such as variables, conditions, and loops to SQL The session resulted from continued engagement with Jason Davies who is also involved in the regional data analyst group and crime reduction unit. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | University of Essex Challenge Lab on Adult Social Care and Children and Families |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The Impact Acceleration Account at the Faculty of Social Sciences organised a Challenge Lab on Adult Social Care and Children and Families with Essex County Council. Participants included multiple academics across the faculties, as well as senior civil servants and commissioners at Essex County Council. The groups presented multiple projects, some of which have been funded by the IAA to maximise the impact of researchers, including the Business and Local Government Data Research Centre. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | University of Essex Challenge Lab on Covid-19 |
| 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 | The Impact Acceleration Account at the Faculty of Social Sciences organised a Challenge Lab on Covid-19. Participants included multiple academics across the faculties, as well as senior civil servants from local authorities and members of organisations across the UK with a role in managing the pandemic. The groups presented multiple projects, some of which have been funded by the IAA to maximise the impact of researchers. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | University responses to pandemics: Lessons from the past and the response to COVID-19 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Between 50-100 people attended a session which sparked questions and discussions - an increase in interest was reported. The presentation describes research on university responses to the Covid-19 pandemic in the UK. Specifically, I comment on historical interventions by universities and present a new study of university communication. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.essex.ac.uk/event-series/essex-explores |
| Description | Using data to improve practice: grant funded data analytics webinar |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | On 18th September 2020 the Centre delivered a presentation to the NHS Chain Network to discuss how data can be used in the NHS and the support available through the DAIV scheme. Over 20 organisations from across the NHS and third sector attended the session. It was well received with lots of positive feedback and questions. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Virtual CogX, AI for Sustainable Development, Panel |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Prof Fasli participated in Virtual CogX, an event focused on Artificial Intelligence, and she participated in a panel discussion on "Artificial Intelligence for Sustainable Development". This was on the 10th of June 2020. The panel included a Q&A session with the panel participants and was attended by over 100 participants representing a wide audience coming from academic, industry, policy makers and postgraduate students. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://cogx.live/homepage/ |
| Description | Virtual Data Consultation Clinic 4th May 2020 |
| 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 | On 4th May 2020, the Centre facilitated a virtual data consultation clinic. This pre-booked session enabled organisations across the UK to benefit from a 30min one to one consultation with the Centre's experts. The sessions allowed organisations to discuss their data dilemmas, explore creative solutions and opportunities. Organisations benefiting from a consultation included Chris Murphy of Tide Global, Nicky Evans of Brainwave and Matthew Sullivan and Shakeel Subratty of Pay Check Ltd. Topics discussed included impact assessment, creating a model for local economic growth through the digitalisation of supply chain and data science thought leadership. The sessions were an opportunity to promote the upcoming webinars, DAIVs and future workshops. The engagement was extended through the use of social media which resulted in retweets, comments and support. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Visualisation of Data (including infographics) Webinar |
| 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 | This webinar was delivered as part of a demand led series by Dr Kakia Chatsiou addressing the topical interest and challenges associated with the Visualisation of Data (including infographics). With an ever increasing amount of data and reporting demands of business and the third sector, to produce eye-catching visual displays, including infographics used in marketing collateral, this webinar addressed the fundamentals of selecting the appropriate visuals, including meeting accessibility requirements. Participants were provided copies of the slide deck and access to helpful informative resources, which were well received and appreciated. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Webinar on 'Bounce Back from COVID-19: Flash funding round' |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | On 10th June 2020, the Centre delivered a presentation on how to apply for grant funded data analytics support through the DAIV scheme. 44 organisations from across the UK attended the session including Public Health England. Organisations represented business, public sector and charities. Feedback from delegates was very positive and within 30minutes of the session ending, the Centre received a number of expressions of interest for follow up consultations. Engagement continued online via social media. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Webinar: DAIV Application Process |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | On 7th February 2020, 98 people registered for the webinar which took place. The webinar focused on how to apply for a DAIV, the wider expertise of the Centre and case studies of data analytics and impact we have had to date. 54% were from the public sector, others represented private sector and not for profits. The webinar included a live Q&A. An engaged audience submitted many questions about the power and value of data as well as how to apply for grant funded support. The webinar was also an opportunity to promote the annual conference as well as gain insight into topics that would be of interest to our stakeholders which will be used to inform future webinars, podcasts and training sessions. Within 3 days we received over 10 requests for follow up consultations and information these include from: Innovation Centre, Neil Griffin, BodySwaps, Children's University, EveWright Studio, Southend YMCA, Healthy New Towns - Essex County Council and Colchester Borough Council, St Lukes Hospice and Kent Council. Engagement was also enhanced through social media. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Webinar: Diversity in AI, From Algorithms to Fair and Trusted AI Systems |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Prof Fasli was the keynote speaker in the "Diversity in Artificial Intelligence" webinar which was organised by Profusion. Prof Fasli talked about the challenges of deploying AI technologies, biases in the various stages of applying AI and prompted the audience to examine their practices. The webinar was attended by about 70 participants coming from industry, but also other sectors. Following on the webinar, there was a lively discussion between participants and Prof Fasli answered questions and provided commentary. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Workshop on Big Data Analytics for Qualitative Research in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | The Workshop was organized by K J Somaiya Institute of Management, Mumbai (India) during January 16-17, 2023. Around 25 participants, who were either engaged with the research in DEI or were planning to undertake research in DEI attended the workshop. Most of them were academicians and some were PhD scholars. The objective of the workshop was to familiarize the participants with NLP techniques, and how to make use of those techniques for analyzing the interview transcriptions and other secondary text data. The participants were given a demonstration of scraping Twitter data on DEI, preprocessing the data and applying text summarizing, topic modelling and sentiment analysis algorithms to analyze that data. The workshop was very vibrant with a lot of questions and enthusiasm from the participants. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Workshop with Kings College London and Healthwatch Essex |
| 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 | On 25th May 2021, the Centre was invited to participate in a virtual workshop with King's College London, University of London and Healthwatch Essex facilitated by Dr Giulia Zoccatelli, Research Fellow. The virtual workshop was about the current and potential impact of local Healthwatch. Also involved in the workshop was the CEOs of the key health care providers in Essex and the ICS. Over the last two years, the Universities have been carrying out an independent study funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) to explore and enhance the way in which local Healthwatch works. Healthwatch Essex has been one of our five study sites across England. Part of the research involved studying the everyday life of Healthwatch through observation of Healthwatch projects and activities and interviews with a wide range of people involved in its work. The workshop brought together Healthwatch staff, Trustees and key local partners (e.g. local authority commissioners, representatives of the acute system, primary care commissioners, Integrated Care System partners). At the workshop, the group discussed practices and strategies through which Healthwatch ensures meaningful patient and public voice in the commissioning and provision of local health and social care services. In particular, the discussion explored: What evidence from Healthwatch about public and patient needs and experiences of local services do health and social care partners find most useful? How can the collection and communication of such needs and experience be improved? How can Healthwatch and its local health and care partners work better together to effect positive change for local people? The outcomes of the workshop will feed into the overall research study into the workings of Healthwatch organisations across the UK and their ability to influence commissioning and delivery of health and social care. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Workshop/Training: Charity Data 101 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | On 2nd March 2020, the Centre delivered a workshop for the third sector aimed at laying the foundations of data analytics, creating a data strategy and sharing ideas around the use of data to inform delivery. Over 11 delegates attended the workshop each representing a different organisation including: Southend Carers, Support 4 Sight, Mind at Work, SANS, Trinity, Helen Rollason Cancer Charity, BEST Growth Hub, Garon Park CiC, Trust Link, HARP and University of East London. All delegates reported an improved understanding of data. Feedback forms rated the session 8 or above out of 10. Engagement was extended through social media and all delegates took away an information pack including useful resources, contact details and details of the Centre's work. A number of the delegates have already registered for future training and expressed an interest in further projects/collaboration with the Centre. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Youth Future Organisations - (potential Data Analytics Innovation Voucher) |
| 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 | Catherine Fitzgerald from Youth Future Organisations contacted the BLG DRC with a specific interest in finding-out more information about our Data Analytics Innovation Voucher (DAIV) scheme. Youth unemployment, specifically understanding the capability of Understanding Society, and its intersections with datasets (i.e. admin/tax data) to yield insights on groups of disadvantaged young people's employment journeys and pathways. A consultation call with a Senior Research Officer has been offered to discuss the project and to potentially work-up an Expression of Interest form. We are waiting for the client to confirm their preferred availability before proceeding further. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | enquiry from We Care 4 Air |
| 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 | On 12th June 2020 the Centre received a referral from BEST Growth Hub for We Care 4 Air Ltd. Vanessa Ambler of We Care 4 Air requires data analytics support. No further details were provided on the referral. The Centre sent a follow up email including information on how to apply for grant funded support and the upcoming webinars. The EOI was approved on 8th July 2020 and the client was sent the full DAIV application forms for completion. On 29th July 2020 We Care 4 Air submitted the DAIV application form which is now to be reviewed along with other applications by the board in August 2020. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |