Public Engagement at Smart Data Foundry
Why We Engage the Public
Smart Data Foundry sits at the intersection of private sector data, academic research, and public policy; using people's de-identified financial information to inform decisions that affect their lives. This creates both opportunity and responsibility.
When we use banking data to research hidden poverty, inform government policy, or help councils target support services, the public has a right to understand how that data is collected, protected, and used; and crucially, whether the trade-off between privacy and public benefit is one they find acceptable.
Public engagement is essential to building and maintaining the social license that makes our work possible. It ensures we're answering questions that matter to people's lived experiences (not just what's technically feasible), surfaces concerns or blind spots we might miss, and keeps us accountable to the communities the research supported by our data is meant to serve.
Our hope is that when people understand that their anonymised financial data is being used to identify child poverty in overlooked areas, improve official statistics, or prevent homelessness - and can see the ethical safeguards protecting their privacy - they become advocates for responsible data sharing rather than sceptics.
Our public engagement programme covers activities by Smart Data Foundry, and research activity conducted as Smart Data Research UK’s Financial Data Service (FINDS).
Our Public Engagement Principles
Our approach is guided by five core principles:
1. Demonstrate Trustworthiness
We recognise that trust isn't achieved once and retained forever - it must be continuously demonstrated. By listening and responding to public views on how financial data should be used for research, and meeting public expectations over and above formal legal requirements, we strive to show we're worthy of the responsibility we hold.
2. Maximise Public Benefit
Public engagement helps us understand people's real-world needs and priorities, ensuring the research we support addresses questions that genuinely matter and creates the greatest possible public benefit.
3. Foster Mutual Learning
We take a dialogue-based approach, not a show-and-tell exercise. Public perspectives enrich financial data research, while our work helps people understand how financial data can improve policy and services.
4. Be Inclusive
We actively engage diverse voices from different backgrounds, identities, and experiences. We adapt our approaches to reduce barriers to participation, ensuring financial data research reflects and serves all communities.
5. Operate Transparently
We're open about our methods, our findings, and how we use public input. We communicate clearly about what we do, why we do it, and how people can get involved or raise concerns.
How we engage
Public Panel - Data Voices
We're establishing Data Voices as our public engagement panel. This is a diverse group of people from across Great Britain who will meet quarterly to:
- Provide feedback on research priorities and ethical considerations
- Help us communicate complex financial data research in accessible ways
- Shape how we engage with communities about data sharing for public good
- Review proposed research projects and ensure they align with public expectations
Panel members will offer perspectives on:
- What constitutes legitimate public good use of financial data
- How to balance privacy protection with research benefit
- Which research questions matter most to communities
- How findings should be communicated to maximise impact
How Public Engagement Shapes Our Work
Public engagement will influence what we do and how we do it. As the programme progresses, we will update this section of the website with examples of how public input has informed our approach and what we’ve changed or done differently as a result.
We will publish an annual summary of public engagement activities and how they've influenced our work, as well as outputs from each public engagement session and impact case studies.
