Dr. Fiona Mc Dermott

Summary

In the dual contexts of increased pressure for more ICT networked systems for sustainability efforts, and increasing global resource scarcity from energy, raw materials and ecosystems survival, there is an ever greater need to understand which, and to what effect, ICT solutions produce meaningful outcomes and public value. INTUIT is a socio-technical research project to examine the efficacy of ICT deployments. Through collaboration with technical researchers and analysis of pre-existing use cases, the project takes a critical evidence-based approach to understanding the varied processes, practices, and parameters of ICT deployments to reassess their wider environmental and societal impact. The case study projects will be assessed using a mixed-method approach, i.e. through the collection of qualitative and quantitative information. This will include conducting interviews and focus groups to understand the impact of deployments, as well as the analysis of socio-technical systems and factors such as the environmental cost of material production, data consumption, etc.

Funding Agency

SFI - Research Ireland

Summary

Developments in urban digital innovation and smart cities are broadly critiqued for modes of civic engagement that are paternalistic and prescriptive, with initiators favouring exchanges between established networks and promoting pre-defined technical solutions to societal issues. As a means of re-orientating asymmetric power relations between different societal and government/corporate/academic actors in these projects, this research takes up the concept of `missing data", as set out by feminist technology scholars, de Alemeida, D"Ignazio and Klein, who define `missing data" as information that is socially and political applicable, but that which is unaccounted for or unavailable.[1] This includes, entirely absent or insufficient datasets, as well as data that is purposely hidden or removed, difficult to access, and/or underreported. For example, missing data in society-government interactions may include those relating to housing provision, environmental data, and accessibility in the urban environment. Working with community-based organisations, educationists, activists and practitioners, the primary objective of this project is to uncover `missing data" to fill the data gaps on critical social problems between different actors, such as marginalised groups, government and other public institutions.

Funding Agency

SFI - Research Ireland

Summary

The Connected Communities project is a transdisciplinary research project involving academic partners at Queen"s Communities and Place (QCAP), CONNECT at Trinity College Dublin (TCD), and a network of inner-city community development organisations in Belfast and Dublin. The project seeks to empower under-resourced urban communities in Belfast and Dublin to take an active role in shaping the digital interventions that directly affect their lives. Positioned at the intersection of urban planning, open-data informatics, and community engagement, Connected Communities addresses the systemic exclusion of marginalised communities from the data-driven decision-making processes that drive urban innovation. Central to the project is the need to challenge the epistemic and structural imbalances prevalent in traditional smart city models. The project aims to challenge this dynamic by creating a network that amplifies the voices and agency of community groups across smart city project areas in Ireland. Its approach is rooted in community-led governance and participatory co-design, ensuring that marginalised communities have a meaningful role in shaping urban innovation. The initial phase of the project (2024) focused on three key objectives: (i) Empowering urban communities: Connected Communities prioritised connecting local communities to strengthen their capacity for collective action. By promoting collaboration both locally and regionally, communities can be better positioned to influence urban development agendas and address shared challenges. (ii) Bridging the gap between stakeholders: The project sought to bridge the gap between those managing smart city projects"usually academic, municipal, and commercial consortiums"and the citizens living and working in the so-called "opportunity areas." While managing entities are typically well-networked, local communities often remain disconnected from the decision-making processes, a gap that Connected Communities aimed to address. (iii) Establishing cross-border collaboration: Connected Communities introduced a North-South dimension to existing smart city projects, linking communities and researchers across Belfast and Dublin to enhance knowledge exchange and collaboration. This cross-border network mirrors the existing economic and skills corridors and aims to influence smart city agendas not only locally but also on a broader European scale, over time.

Funding Agency

British Academy

Summary

The ARTSFORMATION research project explores the intersection between arts, society and technology and aims to understand, analyze, and promote the ways in which the arts can reinforce the social, cultural, economic, and political benefits of the digital transformation. More specifically, the project aspires to boost Europe's ability to use the arts in tackling complex technological transformations, such as data ethics and quality, artificial intelligence, unequal participation opportunities in the digital economy, and more. Through research on the transformational capabilities of the arts, and by involving actors from many different sectors of society, the project intends to mobilise the arts towards a better and more participatory digital world.

Funding Agency

European Union

Programme

Horizon 2020

Summary

Entanglement explores the materiality of data and the interwoven human, environmental, and cultural impacts of information and communication technologies. It highlights how data production and consumption territorialise the physical landscape, and examines Ireland"s place in the pan-national evolution of data infrastructure through raising awareness about the material footprint of the global internet and cloud services, which is entwined with the Irish landscape both historically and in the present day, from the landing of the first transatlantic cable at Valentia Island in 1858 and Marconi"s, transmission of wireless radio messages across the Atlantic Ocean in the early 20th century to Ireland"s current role as Europe"s data centre hub.

Funding Agency

Culture Ireland and the Arts Council Ireland