Recent CIM research grant successes

We are extremely delighted to announce that CIM academics have recently been successful in a number of exciting grant applications. As well as the diversity of topics and methodological approaches, the wide range of funders supporting the projects -- UKRI, AHRC, ESRC, NERC, and the Alan Turing Institute -- is another strong indicator of the interdisciplinarity of CIM’s research.

Here are brief introductions to the seven new CIM projects that have been funded recently, and have either started or starting very soon:

COVID-19 App Store and Data Flow Ecologies (Funded by: UKRI, Investigators: Michael Dieter & Nate Tkacz)

This project contributes to the emerging public and policy debates through digital methods research of COVID-19 apps and their governance through app stores, along with the data flows of prevalent apps within this domain. Further details here.

Modelling Future Tempos for Complex Policy (Funded by: Alan Turing Institute, Investigator: Emma Uprichard)

With a methodological focus, this project aims to explore and test how different network methods might be used to develop new kinds of data science for social policy purposes. Further details here.

Ecological Belongings. Transforming soil cultures through science, activism and art (Funded by: AHRC, Investigator: Maria Puig de la Bellacasa)

This project focuses on the cultural aspects of human-soil relations in an industrialised society, the UK, as a case study for understanding how new ecological cultures are taking shape in response to a crisis of relations with non-human nature.

DECIDE: Delivering Enhanced Biodiversity Information with Adaptive Citizen Science and Intelligent Digital Engagements (Funded by: NERC, CIM Investigators: Greg McInerny & Cagatay Turkay)

This project aims to enhance existing biodiversity information by enabling citizen scientists understand where their recording efforts would be most valuable through advanced visualisation and will produce fine-resolution distribution models for about 1000 insect species of moths, butterflies and grasshoppers across the UK using earth observation sensor data. Further details here.

Pause for Thought: Media Literacy in an Age of Incessant Change (Funded by: AHRC network, CIM Investigator: Scott Wark)

This network aims to provide a new platform to discuss, formulate, and publish nascent strategies for negotiating and resisting the pressures, anxieties, and hindrances that are commonly faced in our high-speed society. Further details here.

Visual Analytics Systems for Explaining and Analysing Contact (Funded by: UKRI, CIM Investigator: Cagatay Turkay)

This project aims to enhance the decision making and communication processes involving large collections of contact tracing networks through visual analytics and aims to inform public health policies and to develop means to inform the public on policy decisions in informative and transparent ways within the ongoing and future pandemics. Further details here.

Shaping 21st Century AI: Controversies in Media, Policy, and Research (Funded by: ESRC, CIM Investigators: Noortje Marres, Michael Castelle & James Tripp)

This project aims to analyse and challenge technological determinist accroaches to the current “AI tsunami” and explore AI as a socio-technical phenomenon that is underpinned by fundamental constructions not least that of the “problem-solving capacity” of technology.

We are excited to see these new projects joining the several ongoing and completed research projects at CIM that are listed here. We have also written a blog post that reflects on and celebrates the ongoing and recently funded research projects – you can find the blog post here.

Stay tuned on CIM’s webpages for updates and outcomes from these projects, and feel free to approach CIM members for further details and to discuss opportunities for collaboration.