NIESR and Nesta are coming together to host a workshop on Friday 15th May from 10:30 to 12:30 on how big data tools and techniques can play an important role in informing industrial and innovation policy. The session will have presentations from a number of researchers working on measuring economic and innovation activity using big data and a panel discussion about the potential and limitations of these new methods. We’d be delighted if you can come.
In recent years, large private sector companies like Google and Amazon have shown the immense value that can be extracted through harnessing the vast amounts of data being created through individuals and company's interaction with online technologies. Through the collection and analysis of this 'big data', these companies have been able to attain previously unattainable insights on their customers behaviour. Yet this 'big data' movement has yet to have a significant impact on those making decisions in industrial policy where most decisions are still based on data gathered through traditional official datasets, often constructed at significant expense to the taxpayer.
Agenda:
Welcome from Jonathan Portes (Director of NIESR) and Hasan Bakhshi (Director of Creative Economy at Nesta)
Presentations:
Max Nathan (NIESR) - Mapping the information economy using big data
This paper uses novel, ‘big data’ sources to improve our understanding of information economy businesses in the UK – that is, those involved in the production of ICTs. We use this experience to critically reflect on some of the opportunities and challenges presented by big data tools and analytics for economic research and policymaking. https://www.nesta.org.uk/sites/default/files/mapping_info_economy_working_paper.pdf
Juan Mateos-Garcia (Nesta) - A map of the UK games industry
This report, done in partnership with Ukie (a trade body supporting the UK’s games and interactive entertainment industry), adopts an experimental ‘big data’ approach to measure the sector, identifying games companies through their digital footprint in product directories, wikis and games reviews sites instead of using official industrial (SIC) codes or surveys. https://www.nesta.org.uk/sites/default/files/map_uk_games_industry_wv.pdf
Abdullah Gok (Manchester Institute of Innovation Research) –
Use of Web Mining in Studying Innovation
This article examines the practicalities and effectiveness of web mining as a research method for innovation studies. It uses web mining to explore the R&D activities of 296 UK-based green goods small and mid-size enterprises and finds that website data offers additional insights when compared with other traditional unobtrusive research methods, such as patent and publication analysis.
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs11192-014-1434-0
The workshop is free but registration is required. To ensure attendance please RSVP to Luca Pieri:
Email: l.pieri [at] niesr.ac.uk
Tel: 020 7654 1931
Date: Friday 15th May 2015
Time: 10.30-12.30pm
Venue: National Institute of Economic and Social Research, 2 Dean Trench St, Smith Square, London SW1P 3HE