What is digital economy?

Digital economy research brings together expertise from different academic disciplines to understand and develop new digital technologies - working closely with those who will benefit from the research. These partners are crucial to the success of the research and may be drawn from community groups, NGOs, government or industry.

The Research Councils UK Digital Economy Theme is supporting research to rapidly realise the transformational impact of such technologies on aspects of community life, cultural experiences, future society, and the economy. Since its inception in 2008 the Theme has invested over £138m on a range of activities. These include three large interdisciplinary Research Hubs, led by the Universities of Aberdeen, Newcastle and Nottingham.

dot.rural is focusing on the rural digital economy. Rural areas have specific characteristics that create challenges around issues such as quality of life and wealth creation. We believe that rural areas of the UK can, through the user-led application of digital technology, be more economically, socially and environmentally sustainable. To find out more about dot.rural visit the About home page.

Horizon (Nottingham) is looking at the challenges of providing a new generation of personal applications that use the traces we leave behind whenever we use mobile, internet and other digital technologies, in a manner that respects personal privacy and enriches the rich range of social interactions that we engage in at work and at home.

SiDE (Newcastle & Dundee) aims to tackle social exclusion by making it easier for people to access the life-changing benefits offered by digital technologies.