Engineering giant Rolls-Royce is pulling together an alliance of data experts too find new and faster ways of helping businesses and governments recover from the economic impact of coronavirus.
The business, which has its civil aerospace and defence divisions in Derby, has invited a group of leading companies to collaborate on the new alliance which is called Emer2gent.
Members who have joined so far include Leeds Institute for Data Analytics, IBM, Google Cloud, The Data City, Truata and ODI Leeds.
Rolls-Royce said that Emer2gent will combine traditional economic, business, travel and retail data sets with behaviour and sentiment data, to provide new insights into – and practical applications to support – the global recovery from coronavirus.
It said the work will be done with a “sharp focus” on privacy and security, using industry best practices for data sharing and robust governance.
In a statement Rolls-Royce said: “Emer2gent models will help get people and businesses back to work as soon as possible by identifying lead indicators of economic recovery cycles.
“Businesses, both small and large, around the world, as well as governments, can use these insights to build the confidence they need to take early decisions, such as investments or policies, that could shorten or limit the recessionary impacts from the pandemic.”
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The alliance is voluntary and all of the insights from Emer2gent will be published for free.
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Caroline Gorski, global director at R2 Data Labs, the Rolls-Royce data innovation catalyst, which started the alliance, said: “We want the global economy to get better as soon as possible so people can get back to work.
“Our data innovation community can help do this and is at its best when it comes together for the common good.
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“People, businesses and governments around the world have changed the way they spend, move, communicate and travel because of Covid-19 and we can use that insight, along with other data, to provide the basis for identifying what new insights and trends may emerge that signify the world’s adjustment to a ‘new normal’ after the pandemic.”
Professor Mark Birkin, from the Leeds Institute for Data Analytics at the University of Leeds, said: "The Covid crisis has demonstrated the need for governments and their advisers to seek real world insights into mobility, behaviour and human contact networks.
“We believe that there are mutual benefits from access to transactional data for scientific research, business and commerce, so will be working as part of the alliance to facilitate the secure sharing of data and to connect Emer2gent partners with expertise within the academic community."