SAGE Publishing partners with University of Bath to launch new Public Data Lab to support advances in social science research and digital methods

London, UK. SAGE Publishing has entered into a partnership with the Institute for Policy Research at the University of Bath, to establish a new Public Data Lab in order to facilitate social science research, teaching and public engagement activities around the future of the data society.

Incubated at the Institute for Policy Research under the direction of Prize Fellow Dr Jonathan Gray and Professor Nick Pearce, the lab will mobilise an international, interdisciplinary network of researchers, practitioners and organisations in order to develop and disseminate innovative research, teaching, design and participation formats for the creation and use of public data. The Public Data Lab will support the experimentation around the use, creation and co-production of digital public data in the service of social research, policy-making, advocacy, journalism and public participation around current and future global challenges – from climate change to tax base erosion, migration to automation.

Ahead of the Public Data Lab launch, SAGE’s President of Global Publishing, Ziyad Marar welcomed the new initiative saying:

“For SAGE Publishing to support the establishment of the Public Data Lab to advance social science research and to initiate its first phase of research and public engagement activities is both exciting and fitting. In an era of unprecedented data flows we are fundamentally changing how we make sense of the world, and SAGE firmly believes that social science needs to play a critical role where this impacts on society. It is our hope that the Public Data Lab, with the support of SAGE, will become a pioneer of innovative digital tools, methods and born digital data in public policy, research and teaching.”

Jonathan Gray, Prize Fellow at the University of Bath and Co-Founder of the Public Data Lab, commented:

“We are delighted to be working with SAGE to establish the Public Data Lab. Given its world-leading role in publishing social science research and methods texts, as well as its work to support innovative research around the social, political and cultural consequences of datafication – including through venues such as Big Data and Society – SAGE is the perfect fit for us. We are also particularly appreciative of its role in supporting open access publication. We look forward to exploring how the lab can advance methods and working formats to broaden participation and enrich debate around the creation and use of data in society.”

More about the Public Data Lab can be found at: http://publicdatalab.org

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SAGE Publishing Sara Miller McCune founded SAGE Publishing in 1965 to support the dissemination of usable knowledge and educate a global community. SAGE is a leading international provider of innovative, high-quality content publishing more than 1,000 journals and over 800 new books each year, spanning a wide range of subject areas. Our growing selection of library products includes archives, data, case studies and video. SAGE remains majority owned by our founder and after her lifetime will become owned by a charitable trust that secures the company’s continued independence. Principal offices are located in Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, Singapore, Washington DC and Melbourne. www.sagepublishing.com

The Public Data Lab seeks to facilitate research, democratic engagement and public debate around the future of the data society. It aims to develop and disseminate innovative research, teaching, design and participation formats for the creation and use of public data, working in collaboration with an interdisciplinary network of researchers, practitioners, journalists, civil society groups, designers, developers and public institutions across the world. www.publicdatalab.org

The Institute for Policy Research is a leading institute of public policy research in the UK. It undertakes and enables policy-relevant research to make an impact, especially through building links with the worlds of policy and practice as well as by increasing public understanding of policy research through our Public Lecture and Policy Brief series. It delivers activities for policy makers, researchers and practitioners to enable two-way learning and original contributions to both research and practice, delivered through its Policy Fellowship Programme, Professional Doctorate, and Outstanding Visiting Fellows and Visiting Policy Fellows Schemes. www.bath.ac.uk/ipr