Ten Projects Chosen for UK Regulator's 'Sandbox'

UK data regulator the ICO has announced ten projects chosen for the beta phase of its 'Sandbox' service, which supports companies and public sector organisations looking to develop innovative and compliant data-based products and services.

The ten were chosen from 64 applications. Participants must be developing 'innovative products and services using personal data with a clear public benefit', and can tap into the ICO's expertise and advice from an early stage, ensuring that appropriate protections and safeguards are in place. Now that the first ten are chosen, detailed plans will be developed for each before work starts on testing their products and services. The ICO expects all participants to have exited the sandbox by September 2020.

As part of the deal, neither the ICO nor the ten organisations will go into any further detail about individual projects at this stage. Information Commissioner Elizabeth Denham (pictured) comments: 'The ICO supports innovation in technology and exciting new uses of data, while ensuring that people's privacy and legal rights are protected. We have always said that privacy and innovation are not mutually exclusive and there doesn't need to be an either-or choice between the two.

'The sandbox will help companies and public bodies deliver new products and services of real benefit to the public, with assurance that they have tackled built-in data protection at the outset.

'Engaging with businesses and innovators in the sandbox is also a valuable exercise in horizon scanning - the ICO can identify new developments in technology and innovation and the potential opportunities and challenges they may provide'.

The projects selected are:

• FutureFlow, which monitors the flow of funds in the financial system and helps fight electronic financial crime
• work on better use of data for the Mayor of London's Violence Reduction Unit (VRU)
• a project at Heathrow Airport to streamline the passenger journey by using biometrics, including facial recognition technology
• Jisc, which is developing a Code of Practice with universities and colleges wishing to investigate the use of student activity data to improve their provision of student support services.
• a collaboration between The Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, Blackpool Council and the Department of Work and Pensions aimed at better understanding of the private rented sector in the city
• development of a central mechanism for collecting and managing patient consents for the sharing of data, by NHS Digital
• an exploration of the use of voice technology within healthcare by Novartis Pharmaceuticals UK
• research by Onfido on how to identify and mitigate algorithmic bias in machine learning models used for remote biometric-based identity verification.
• The Galileo Programms, aiming to use data to improve road safety and fight crime, and jointly sponsored by the National Police Chiefs' Council and Highways England, and
• TrustElevate, which provides secure authentication and authorisation for under-16s.

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.