Understanding and co-designing mechanisms for research participation within the DDRI model

The Data Driven Research and Innovation (DDRI) Programme is a major strategic initiative by Coventry University involving close collaboration with University and Sector partners that are amongst the leaders in their respective fields. The DDRI Programme involves residential facilities and domestic homes, as well as private vehicles and public transport services, and there is a strong community focus throughout. Its major goal is to use data driven analytics and insights to support: independent living; healthy ageing; improved quality of life, well-being and care (self-care or care from others); improved management of particular health conditions; and enabling people to stay in their own homes for longer. The use of smart buildings and intelligent mobility to support improvements in health, care and well-being are also important themes

Under the programme we undertook a 12 month project employing co-creation as a tool to develop a shared understanding of the DDRI concept and to develop and agree some initial guiding principles for researching and working together in this context. Specifically, we sought to (1) explore stakeholder views, experiences and perceptions of research in supported living environments ; (2) gain an understanding of concerns around the DDRI model and current disciplinary approaches to gaining consent, data use and ethical approval; (3) co-create project processes to inform the development of future DDRI projects and guide ethical research.

The research highlighted a ‘lack of depth’ of published literature to guide the development of studies that engage stakeholders within a living lab context. The ethical framework and guidance that was developed in intended to guide the design and implementation of future DDRI studies as well as those of other living lab environments.