Smart Data Foundry (SDF) has been awarded £3 million funding to operate a new Financial Data Service, enabling more researchers to study the financial health of millions of households across the UK, by providing secure access to financial behaviours, economic resilience, and regional economic activity. The funding is made by Smart Data Research UK, which is part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).
The new service, which will operate from SDF’s base at Edinburgh Futures Institute, will be part of a network of five other data services across the country. Together, they will put the UK at the forefront of smart data research and innovation. Providing safe and efficient ways for researchers to access and use the smart data generated through everyday interactions with the digital world, including via mobile apps, navigation systems, social media and shopping.
Led by SDF’s Dougie Robb and Professor Chris Dibben from the University of Edinburgh, the new Financial Data Service will provide unprecedented insights into the economic health of the UK through secure access to de-identified banking and finance data from millions of households and businesses.
Since its establishment in 2022, SDF has earned national recognition for its work using anonymised financial data for public good, including research in partnership with NatWest Group into how Covid-19 affected how people earned, spent and saved during and post pandemic and its work with Sage and CEBR on their quarterly SME tracker.
Dougie Robb, SDF’s Interim CEO, said: “We look forward to joining five of the most forward-thinking data service organisations in the UK in this groundbreaking network. It will foster data sharing partnerships between academia, public institutions and private enterprise leading to public good outcomes which will improve the lives of people across the UK.
“In partnership with the University of Edinburgh (UoE) we’ve made great progress in holding and making available for public benefit research financial data resources. We have forged fruitful data partnerships with NatWest Group, Virgin Money, SAGE, and Equifax, and built a team of transdisciplinary experts with expertise across finance, banking, digital technology, product, data science, and information governance.”
Professor Chris Dibben added: “Understanding the financial situation of households across the UK is a vitally important for social and economic research. However this key aspect of economic life is often poorly measured in our research datasets or even absent. This investment by Smart Data Research UK in a Financial Data Service will allow us to change this situation, enabling more public benefit social and economic policy research. I am really excited to be working with Smart Data Foundry and SDR UK to deliver this significant new resource over the next three years.”
By partnering with financial institutions and leading research institutes, the new Financial Data Service will deliver insights into productivity, prosperity and health and wellbeing, providing access to detailed evidence about financial behaviours, economic resilience, and regional economic activity. This data will enable researchers to tackle urgent policy challenges including the cost-of-living crisis, financial inclusion, the changing nature of employment, and productivity in different economic sectors and geographic places. The service will enable a transformation in the UK’s understanding of how economic shocks and policy interventions affect different communities, helping policymakers design more targeted and effective responses to economic challenges.
Magdalena Getler, Head of Academic Engagement at Smart Data Foundry, said: “With the new Data (Use and Access) Bill currently going through Parliament, we are at the beginning of a new age for data. If successful, the new legislation will empower safe data use, access, and sharing for the good of society like tackling challenges such as the impacts of poverty and economic inactivity.”
Also awarded funding in this latest tranche was Smart Energy Data Service, part of the Energy Systems Catapult. All six will work collaboratively as part of the Smart Data Research UK programme.
These two new data services join four others previously announced:
- Imagery Data Service (Imago)
- Smart Data Donation Service
- Geographic Data Service
- Healthy and Sustainable Places Data Service
A strategic hub based within the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) will provide leadership and coordination. It will also offer common services and ethical guidance.
Joe Cuddeford, Director of Smart Data Research UK, said: “Our six interconnected services will enable researchers to access unprecedented insights across finance, energy, health, geography, and beyond – empowering innovative solutions to complex societal challenges facing the UK today.”
Stian Westlake, Executive Chair of the Economic and Social Research Council, added: “This investment in a new network of smart data services helps put the UK at the forefront of data-driven innovation. Data infrastructure is as critical to our shared prosperity as transport, water or power networks. When we invest in data infrastructure we are investing in economic growth, improved public services, and a more sustainable future.”
Read the orginal article: https://ffnews.com/newsarticle/funding/3m-funding-boost-for-edinburghs-smart-data-foundry/
