In the race to generate ‘data-driven’ solutions, we run the risk of sidelining human experiences. Efforts to utilise data in ways that empower society, like making data FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) or developing federated data systems, tend to focus on technical areas such as the user experience, privacy, standardisation, interoperability, legal issues, scalability, sustainability. These areas are all important—but they only work well when people are fully engaged.

Making use of data is more than just technical work, it involves an important social dimension. Use of data changes how people work together, what roles they take on, and how power is shared. These changes can create tensions that change the dynamics of work. For example, one of the biggest challenges is that different groups of people think about and use data in different ways. These groups have distinct “epistemic cultures”— they have their own values, norms and tools. Because of this, sharing and understanding data across groups can be beset by tensions such as lack of trust, poor communication or even feelings of vulnerability. Professor Alison Littlejohn and Dr. Francisco Duran del Fierro will share stories from people who work with data and how changes in their work affect them.

For more information visit the Jisc community events page, or register here.