Building better public engagement, together with PEDRI
We are delighted to share that Smart Data Foundry has joined the Public Engagement in Data Research Initiative (PEDRI) as part of our growing focus on working more openly with the public.
At Smart Data Foundry, our aim is simple: to open up financial data for good, using it to reduce poverty and inequality and to improve economic wellbeing. This only works if people trust how data is used and feel they have a say in it.
That’s something that we will explore in our public engagement panel, Data Voices, which brings together members of the public to challenge and shape how we approach data. You can read more about the panel here.
As one Data Voices participant questioned:
How do we make sure that the right people are using data for good, and who gets to decide who those people are?
It’s a fair challenge. And it’s exactly the kind of question that should sit at the centre of how we work.
PEDRI in practice
PEDRI brings together organisations from across the UK who are asking similar questions - not just in theory but in practice. Their focus is simple but ambitious: improving how the data and statistics community involves the public, not as an afterthought, but as a core part of responsible and impactful work.
The vision is one we share, where everyone has a role in data, helping to shape decisions that deliver meaningful benefits to society through trust, transparency, and collaboration.
PEDRI’s mission – to foster a culture in which organisations embrace public voices across all relevant aspects of responsible, ethical and impactful data use – aligns closely with our own approach. As we continue to develop our work, our membership in PEDRI will help us strengthen how we listen and respond.
We are looking forward to developing our public engagement with the guidance of PEDRI because if financial data is to be used for good, the public needs to be involved in how that is done.
