The Data for Policy conference series is the premier global forum for multiple disciplinary and cross-sector discussions around the theories, applications and implications of data science innovation in governance and the public sector.

Submission Guidelines

The International Organisation Committee for the conference invites Paper and Panel Session proposals at the conference to be also considered for potential post-conference publications in Data & Policy (subject to peer-review). There are six broad, interdisciplinary, cross-sectoral areas of interest, which form the standard tracks of the conference. Following the momentous events of 2020, the International Committee and organisers wish to recognise the additional focus on data throughout the whole of society as a consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the opportunities this creates for learning about and developing data and policy interactions. This focus should not be seen as limiting, and we welcome submissions across domains, sectors and applications. In addition to the standard tracks, eight Special Tracks have also been shortlisted this year.

Submissions will be accepted in the following categories:

• Individual Research/Policy/Practitioner Proposals to Standard or Special Tracks in the form of full research papers or extended abstracts
• Session Proposals 

Individual Research/Policy/Practitioner Proposals to Standard or Special Tracks Full research paper: For the benefit of those authors who wish to submit their paper for consideration in the open-access Data & Policy journal published by Cambridge University Press, we are integrating the review process for the conference into that of the journal; it is intended that the reviews performed for the conference will be considered as part of the journal’s peer review procedure, leading to faster decisions in the journal and the potential of publication ahead of the conference. Authors interested in taking advantage of this integrated process can submit a full paper through the conference’s EasyChair system by the deadline of 25 March 2021.  In order to submit a full paper, authors can use the LaTeX and Word templates available via the Data & Policy Instructions for Authors . Please convert your article to PDF to submit to the conference’s Easy Chair System; if accepted into the Journal we will ask for the source files. Please consider the following points, which are described in more detail in the instructions that are linked to above: 

• Data & Policy has two main categories: Research Articles (presenting novel findings; approx 8,000 words inclusive of references) and Commentaries (an overview of existing knowledge about an issue; approx 4,000 words). In your article, please include a heading that indicates into which category your article falls;
• The journal also requires authors to provide a policy significance statement, a competing interest statement, a funding statement and a data availability statement in their article; 
• The journal encourages authors to make replication data and materials openly available and to link to these in the data availability statement in their article;
• Authors should watermark or otherwise indicate in the full paper that it is ‘under review’.
• The review process is likely to include multiple iterations that extend beyond the timeline of the conference, and publication is subject to reviewer comments being reflected in the final paper.
• Note that conference acceptance does not guarantee publication in Data & Policy. 

Extended abstract: The process is essentially unchanged from the 2020 conference. This should be 1,000 words maximum, including a title, research/policy question, research methodology and data used, and key findings. Authors who decide to just submit an extended abstract - in order to present at the conference - will still have the option of submitting to the Journal at a later date if they wish to do so, but will not benefit from the integrated review procedure.   Note also that some Special Track Chairs are intending to guest-edit thematic collections of articles in Data & Policy, so you may be separately contacted by the Chair about the potential of submitting to the Journal. 

Session Proposals Session proposals should comprise a combination of 3-4 presentations from researchers and/or practitioners, each of whom must provide an abstract (1,000 words maximum). A description of the panel should also be submitted (500 words maximum). 

Extended abstract submissions should be made via EasyChair, also accessed via the 2021 conference page on the Data for Policy website. Authors are invited to enter their name(s), title and abstract, and keywords. A number of ‘Submission Categories’ are then presented, from which authors can choose the most relevant. The rest of the submission should be attached as a single pdf.

List of Topics

The standard tracks of the conference are as follows:

• Data-driven Transformations in Governance & Policy – this standard track focuses on the high-level vision for philosophy, ideation, formulation and implementation of new approaches leading to paradigm shifts, innovation and efficiency gains in collective decision-making processes. Topics may include:
  • From data to decisions: scientific innovation in knowledge generation processes, data-driven insights, evidence-based policy making;
  • Applications in public, private and voluntary sector governance and policy-making (local, national, international)
  • Real-time management, future planning, and rethinking/reframing of governance and policy-making in the digital era;
  • Government-private sector-citizen interactions: data and digital power dynamics, asymmetry of information;
  • Democracy, public opinion and involvement, citizen services, media and digital platforms;
  • Interactions between human, institutional and algorithmic decision-making processes; psychology and behaviour of decision-making;
  • Socio-technical and cyber-physical systems, and their policy and governance implications.
• Data Technologies & Analytics for Policy & Governance
  • Data sources: Personal, proprietary & administrative data, official statistics, open & public data;
  • Technologies: GovTech/RegTech, AI, blockchain, IoT, cloud, platforms, visualisation & user interaction;
  • Methodologies & Analytics: Theory & data-driven models, statistics, computational social science,
  • Machine Learning, edge analytics, mixed methods, real-time & historical data processing, geospatial analysis, gaps in theory & practice.
• Policy Frameworks, Governance and Management of Data-driven Innovations – this track focusses on governance practices and management issues involved in implementation of data-driven solutions:
  • Data collection, storage and circulation;
  • Data and algorithm design, value assessment;
  • Data supply chains, ownership, provenance, sharing, linkage, curation, and expiration;
  • Assignment of accountability;
  • Governance models and frameworks;
  • Data literacy, translation, communication;
  • Data intermediaries, trusts, collaboratives;
  • Data and algorithms in the law, regulation;
  • Meta-data, standards and interoperability.
• Ethics, Equity and Trust in Policy Data Interactions – this track examines the issues which must be considered in technology design and assessment.
  • Digital Ethics: Data, algorithms and interaction models;
  • Privacy, data sharing and consent;
  • Digital identification and services;
  • Uncertainties, bias, imperfections in data and data-driven systems;
  • Algorithmic behaviour: equity and fairness, transparency , explainability, accountability, interpretability and reliability;
  • Human control, rights, democratic values and self-determination;
  • Responsibility and maliciousness.
• Algorithmic Governance:
  • Algorithm agency along with human and institutional decision-making processes; black-box processing, data-driven insights;
  • Governance automation: citizen service delivery, supporting civil servants, managing national public records and physical infrastructure, statutes and compliance,  public policy development;
  • Good governance with/by/of algorithms: participation, consensus orientation, accountability, transparency, responsiveness, effectiveness and efficiency, equity and inclusiveness, the rule of law.
• Data to Tackle Global Issues and Dynamic Societal Threats:
  • Human existence and the planet;
  • International collaboration for global risk management and disaster recovery;
  • Global health, emergency response, Covid-19 and pandemics;
  • Sustainable development, climate change and the environment;
  • Humanitarian data science and international migration;
  • Racial justice and gender-based issues;
  • International security, organised crime and hostile environments.

There are eight special tracks:

• 1. ‘Showcasing innovative data services from EU Member States – Paving the way towards transparent documentation’ Track Chairs: Seth van Hooland, Emanuele Baldacci, Blanca Martinez De Aragon and Joao Rodrigues Frade
• 2. ‘Governance of the digital transformation of health systems’ Track Chairs: Tugce Schmitt and Mujaheed Shaikh
• 3. ‘Arguments, algorithms and tools: what do we need to shape policy and confront misinformation post-pandemic?’ Track Chairs: Jaron Porciello, Ulrike Hahn and Stephan Lewandowsky
• 4. ‘Ethical Technology Adoption in Public Administration Services’ Track Chairs: Francesco Mureddu, Giovanna Galasso and Francesco Paolo Schiavo
• 5. ‘AI and public decision-making processes’ Track Chairs: Sarah Giest, Bram Klievink and Alex Ingrams
• 6. ‘Rethinking the open data movement through an intersectional feminist lens’ Track Chairs: Anjali Mehta, Gülsen Güler and Amanda Greene
• 7. ‘Facilitating Data-Driven Innovation for Sustainability: Policy Frameworks and Measures for Data Governance’ Track Chairs: Masaru Yarime
• 8. ‘Towards a data-driven economy: Data Mexico’ Track Chairs: Luis Godoy, Ana Cruz and Fiorentina Garcia
• 9. ‘Systemic engagement: Mobility as a Service (MaaS) and the design challenge of inclusion, sustainability, and data ownership’ Track Chairs: Ronit Purian and Avi Cohen

Committees

Advisory committee

• Jean Bacon – University of Cambridge
• Kenneth Benoit – London School of Economics and Political Science
• Anil Bharath – Imperial College London
• Gabrielle Demange – Paris School of Economics
• Anthony Finkelstein – UK Government Office for Science
• Rayid Ghani – Carnegie Mellon University
• David Hand – Winton Capital Management; Imperial College
• Helen Margetts – University of Oxford; The Alan Turing Institute
• Beth Noveck – New York University
• Alan Penn – University College London
• Rob Procter – University of Warwick; The Alan Turing Institute
• Peter Smith – University of Southampton
• Tom Smith – Office for National Statistics, UK
• John Shawe-Taylor – University College London
• John Taysom – Privitar
• Philip Treleaven– University College London
• Dame Alison Wolf – King’s College London
• Derek Wyatt – Royal Trinity Hospice; All Party Parliamentary Group on Data Analytics
• Milan Vojnovic– London School of Economics and Political Science

Programme committee

• David Bounie – Telecom ParisTech
• Daniel Castro – Centre for Data Innovation
• Suleyman Demirsoy – Intel
• Jasmine Grimsley – Office for National Statistics, UK
• Jose Manuel Magallanes – University of Washington; Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Peru
• Eric T. Meyer – The University of Texas at Austin, University of Oxford
• Slava Mikhaylov – Hertie School of Governance, Berlin
• Suzy Moat – University of Warwick; The Alan Turing Institute
• Mirco Musolesi – University College London; The Alan Turing Institute
• Florian Ostmann – The Alan Turing Institute
• Martijn Poel – Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, the Netherlands
• Tobias Preis – University of Warwick; The Alan Turing Institute
• Harald Stieber – European Commission
• Jatinder Singh – University of Cambridge
• Akin Unver – Kadir Has University
• Michael Veale – University College London
• Andrew Young – New York University
• Louisa Zanoun – UK Science and Innovation Network

International organisation committee

• Leigh Anderson – University of Washington
• Emanuele Baldacci – European Commission
• Jon Crowcroft – University of Cambridge, Alan Turing Institute
• Zeynep Engin – University College London
• Innar Liiv – Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia
• Christoph Luetge – Institute of Ethics and AI, ITM, Munchen
• H. Scott Matthews – Carnegie Mellon University
• Barbara Ubaldi – OECD, Paris
• Stefaan Verhulst – New York University
• Masaru Yarime – Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

Publication

All conference contributions will be considered for peer-reviewed publication in Data & Policy, a Data for Policy – Cambridge University Press collaboration supported by the Alan Turing Institute, Office for National Statistics and UCL.

Venue

The conference will be held at UCL, Wilkins Building, Gower St, Bloomsbury, London WC1E 6BT

Contact

All questions about submissions should be emailed to team@dataforpolicy.org

Sponsors

Data for Policy conference series is an independent non-for-profit initiative and fully funded by the income raised through conference registrations and partner/sponsor contributions. Organisations interested in our flexible partnership/sponsorship packages should get in touch with our team team@dataforpolicy.org