A new research project using loyalty card data to explore shoppers' perceptions about food and the environment has received funding and could help people make more sustainable food choices.
Experts from the University of Nottingham's School of Psychology will lead the 'Data Donation for Climate Action' project that has been awarded £362,837 from the UKRI's Smart Data Accelerator Scheme.
The Nottingham project is one of two additional research teams announced by Smart Data Research UK under its £2.3 million accelerator scheme.
Smart data comes from our everyday interactions with the digital world via mobile apps, satnavs, social media and online shopping. It offers a powerful opportunity to understand society and improve lives.
The research team joins seven other projects funded earlier in the year as part of the innovative accelerator scheme. The Nottingham team will use smart data from Tesco and Co-op loyalty cards that has been donated by volunteer participants. They will use this to develop an Environmental Food Purchasing Index, encompassing types of food people regularly spend money on.
Participants will also complete a survey exploring their perceptions about food and the environment. The team will also create a web portal for public use, where people can upload their own purchase card data. The interactive tool will enable shoppers to explore data about the environmental impact of their shopping, supporting pro-environmental behaviour change.
Professor Alexa Spence will lead the Nottingham team in collaboration with Professor James Goulding and Dr John Harvey from N-Labs at the Business School, Dr Charles Ogunbode, School of Psychology (Nottingham) and Professor Lorraine Whitmarsh MBE, School of Psycholgy, University of Bath.
To meet climate targets we need to make significant changes to the way that we live and there is a general public drive to be more sustainable, but people need to be supported in making behaviour changes. This project will make existing store card data usable for a variety of stakeholders with the potential to enable the public to make more sustainable food choices.
The Nottingham project will help contribute to the broader long-term transformation of research using smart data being championed by Smart Data Research UK.
We're delighted these teams are joining our cohort of accelerator projects. These innovative research teams are addressing challenges at the intersection of data and society. From understanding how our shopping choices impact climate change, to making smart data more accessible to researchers, their work will help us unlock the potential of smart data for public good. We are excited to see what they discover.
