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Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference: EP/W033488/1
Title: PEAs in Pods: Co-production of community-based public engagement for data and AI research
Principal Investigator: Crockett, Professor K
Other Investigators:
Nunn, Dr C
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:
University of Manchester, The University of Salford
Department: Ctr for Advanced Computational Science
Organisation: Manchester Metropolitan University
Scheme: Standard Research - NR1
Starts: 01 September 2022 Ends: 31 May 2025 Value (£): 160,340
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:
Artificial Intelligence Information & Knowledge Mgmt
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:
Information Technologies
Related Grants:
Panel History:
Panel DatePanel NameOutcome
20 Jan 2022 Public Engagement Champions Expert Call January 2022 Announced
16 Feb 2022 Public Engagement Champions Interview Panel February 2022 Announced
Summary on Grant Application Form
Our project, PEAs in Pods, will empower the Greater Manchester (GM) data science and artificial intelligence (AI) research communities to engage meaningfully with traditionally marginalised communities and embed coproduction methods into individual and institutional research processes and governance.

The theme of our public engagement activities is around AI and data-driven technologies. The need to engage citizens in the research and development of this field is increasingly widely recognised, with benefits including increased public trust and more socially relevant applications. If we want to build trust we must first reach out to citizens, inspire them to get involved and demonstrate that their voices have influence.

We will train a cohort of data scientists and AI researchers, known as Public Engagement Ambassadors (PEAs), from three GM universities, then guide and mentor them to work confidently with co-researchers from three traditionally marginalised and digitally excluded groups. Teams will co-produce a set of relevant public engagement events and activities that respond to the distinct needs, interests, and understandings of these community groups. Following evaluation, they will then co-develop a set of legacy resources for on-going community engagement beyond the project under the theme "Data Ethics and AI in a Box".

In parallel, the Public Engagement Champion will engage with the universities to build awareness of and appetite for longer-term researcher-community interaction. She will lead the co-production of mechanisms that will embed sustained interaction with traditionally marginalised groups into institutional research processes across GM. The project will therefore also empower these communities to have a voice and help influence the direction of data science and AI research and its impact on society.

Key Findings
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Potential use in non-academic contexts
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Impacts
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Summary
Date Materialised
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Further Information:  
Organisation Website: http://www.mmu.ac.uk