17 new projects will help drive the ‘Data Empowered Societies’ mission: latest awards announced

At January’s DES kick-off event, we heard from the UCL community about what is being done, and what the gaps are, in building a society that is truly empowered by data - a society where data serves human needs, not the opposite.

In the subsequent months, the GC DES team, under the academic leadership of Professor Allison Littlejohn and Professor James Hetherington, has been setting out its vision: to deliver positive innovation through information technology in ways that empower. 

We launched a call for proposals under the DES Small Grants scheme earlier this year, encouraging applicants to consider interdisciplinary approaches to achieving this goal. The interest and expertise in this area at UCL was evidenced by the 70 applications we received. 

Seventeen projects were successful, totalling £160k of UCL Grand Challenges funding. As with all Grand Challenges work, each project is steered by two leads from different faculties or offices (see these connections in the diagram below).

Professors Hetherington and Littlejohn were pleased to find novelty, curiosity and ambition in equal measure as they explored the proposals:

““Since the launch of the Data Empowered Society Grand Challenge, we’ve had the pleasure of seeing significant engagement from right across the UCL community. This has been instrumental in shaping our vision and driving our activity forwards. We were therefore delighted to be able to review your proposals on addressing the opportunities and concerns around life in an increasingly data-driven society. No discipline, faculty or team should be absent in facing this challenge, so we are very pleased to have awarded funding to a cohort of projects which boasts the diversity of skills and knowledge at UCL”

James Hetherington and Allison Littlejohn, Pro-vice Provosts for Data Empowered Societies

DES Small Grants 24/25 Funded Projects:

Mapping the unseen: recovering living heritage and supporting community-led relocation through data-driven approaches
£9,995
Prof Cassidy Johnson, The Bartlett
Dr Thaisa Comelli, Mathematical and Physical Sciences

Empowering Neonatal Care in Low-Resource Settings through Predictive Data Dashboards
£10,000
Dr David de Lorenzo Lopez, Population Health Sciences
Prof John Shawe-Taylor, Engineering Sciences

NHS Data Flows Project Roadmap
£9,889.16
Dr Victoria Yorke-Edwards, Vice-Provost (Research, Innovation and Global Engagement)
Dr Maria Marcha, Engineering Sciences

Incorporating Indigenous Ecological Knowledge in AI-assisted Bioacoustic Data Analysis for Biodiversity Monitoring
£10,000
Ms Tannis Davidson, Vice-Provost (Faculties)
Ms Raffaella Fryer-Moreira, Social and Historical Sciences

Map & Drill: Crowdmapping and Crowdfunding for Smarter Water Wells in Ethiopia
£9,976
Prof Muki Haklay, Social and Historical Sciences
Prof Mohammad Shamsudduha, Mathematical and Physical Sciences

AI for good and migration dynamics: data-driven models to improve humanitarian response and policy planning across the Channel
£9,907
Prof Benjamin Guedj, Engineering Sciences
Dr Francois Sicard, Arts & Humanities

Data and Lived Experience: Evaluation of Newham’s ‘People Powered Places’ Participatory Budgeting Programme
£9,909.52
Ms Nidhi Chaudhary, Engineering Sciences
Prof. Kieren Reed, Arts & Humanities

Data-Empowered Evacuation: Co-Designing Inclusive Emergency Response System with Disabled People and Fire Rescue Services
£10,000
Dr Tigmanshu Bhatnagar, Engineering Sciences
Prof Maria Kett, Population Health Sciences

Empowering Inuit communities to map their own land
£10,000
Dr Michel Tsamados, Mathematical and Physical Sciences
Dr Tom Couch, Professional Services Hub

Transforming Public Health and Wellbeing Intelligence: Leveraging Particle Physics to Predict and Prevent Chronic Health Challenges
£10,000
Prof Chamkaur Ghag, Mathematical and Physical Sciences
Dr Saad Sheikh, Engineering Sciences

Cohabitation of commercially available robots with people living with frailty (PLWF) in homes.
£10,000
Dr Evangelia Chrysikou, The Bartlett
Dr Vivi Antonopoulou, Brain Sciences

A flexible infrastructure for a teaching-led AI-empowered university
£6398
Prof Eileen Kennedy, IOE
Dr Ioannis Papaioannou, Medical Sciences

STREAMline: Sensor Technology, Robotics, Environment Analytics, and Modelling for Data-Driven River Health
£10,000
Dr. Izzy Bishop, Life Sciences
Dr. Valerio Modugno, Engineering Sciences

Interactive Citizen Science for Data-Empowered Decision Making: developing solutions for the growing burden of plastic waste
£10,000
Dr Aarathi Prasad, Engineering Sciences
Dr Alys McAlpine, Population Health Sciences

Harnessing new data on low-carbon housing retrofits to boost benefits for population health and equity in the UK
£6,246.93
Prof Marcella Ucci, The Bartlett
Dr Ruth Plackett, Population Health Sciences

Using augmented reality technology to increase participation in lifestyle physical activity: A mixed-methods feasibility study
£8,500
Prof Henry Potts, Population Health Sciences
Dr Jonathan Bird, Medical Sciences

SCEHW: Shape-Changing Environments for Health and Well-being
£10,000    
Dr Sara Adhitya, Engineering Sciences
Valentina Soana, The Bartlett

The UCL Grand Challenges team would like to thank all who applied to this call, and those who supported the building of proposals, for their time and effort. We greatly appreciate your input and whether or not you were successful this time round, please stay in touch with us and look out for future opportunities …