A consortium of Heriot-Watt-led researchers has launched a study into the digitisation impact of public services on minority ethnic (ME) groups.

Funded by the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) through the Strategic Priority Fund, the project is part of the Protecting Citizens Online programme.

The Protecting Minority Ethnic Communities Online (PRIME) project was initiated after a range of key public services moved online, a process accelerated by the pandemic, including health, housing and energy.

PRIME will identify the distinctive online harms that ME groups experience due to digitalisation and draw upon a range of academic expertise to develop policy guidance and tools for tackling racial inequalities in the UK.

The project is administered by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research council (EPSRC), and will use social science, applied linguistics, cybersecurity and privacy, data mining, machine learning and human computer interaction to measure digitisation impact.

A Citizen-led Race Equity Living Lab (CREL) will be established to counter digitisation impact and discriminatory processes, enabling firms to address ethnic inequalities and ensure more equitable service outcomes.

Dr Gina Netto from The Urban Institute at Heriot-Watt University is leading the research. She said: “Our multi-disciplinary team has worked collaboratively to engage with a wide range of organisations to design rigorous social and technical methods to deepen understanding of the nature of online harm experienced by minority ethnic communities.

“Together with our partner organisations, PRIME will play an important role in tackling racial inequality and improving service provision for the UK’s increasingly diverse citizens.

“It will also serve as an international exemplar of the critical role that research can play in not only increasing knowledge but in the redesigning and embedding of processes within institutional systems to advance racial equality.”

Co-Investigator Professor Lynne Baillie, a computer scientist from Heriot-University and a leading figure in the National Robotarium, added: “By working with such a multi-disciplinary team and fully engaging with the wide range of ME organisations, we aim to produce benchmark datasets, tools and models to provide improvements that will focus on countering discriminatory processes in digitalised services.”

Recommended

• Opinion | The cyber skills shortage may not be quite as it seems
• Robot performs surgery on throat tumour in Scottish first
• Scots firm Earth Blox unveils no-code solution to satellite data

With a lack of research, policy and practical initiatives in this area and no solid evidence base to draw upon, the digitisation impact on ME communities needs deeper research, the team said.

However, there is wide concern that digitalisation could lead to increased inequality online, or creation of new discriminatory processes.

Additionally, it is also known that ME communities and individuals are disproportionately impacted by harms like cyber-bullying, they said.

Colin Lee, Chief Executive of the Council of Ethnic Minority Voluntary Organisations (CEMVO) Scotland, said: “We are delighted to be working with Heriot-Watt University and other partners on this important research project.

“The digital world that we live in today is very much open to online racial abuse and racial inequalities, which is something that needs to be deeply explored.”

Dr Kedar Pandya, EPSRC Director for Cross-Council Programmes, added: “With the increasing prevalence of digital technologies and services across society, there is a pressing need for further research into the impact on different communities and how user-focused tools can mitigate online harms.

“Through its multi-disciplinary approach bringing together a wide range of expertise, PRIME will provide an important contribution to research in this area and help to develop the tools needed to tackle online discrimination.”

Get the latest news from DIGIT direct to your inbox 

Our newsletter covers the latest technology and IT news from Scotland and beyond, as well as in-depth features and exclusive interviews with leading figures and rising stars. 

We will keep you up to date on the pivotal issues impacting the sector and let you know about key upcoming events to ensure that you don’t miss out on what’s going on across the Scottish tech community. 

To subscribe, click here.