Information from the Digital Benefits and Disbenefits Project

Academic Publications

The project led to writing a peer-reviewed paper with the title Hostile Systems: A Taxonomy of Harms Articulated by Citizens Living with Socio-Economic Deprivation, which was published in the proceedings of world's leading Human Computer Interaction Conference, the ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems Proceedings 2024 (CHI '24).

A draft paper was written describing the derivation of the earlier design recommendations and implications (included in Research Briefing NO2) and prior to the design and development of the two digital prototypes (described in Research Briefings NO3 and NO4), with the title Precarious Experiences: Citizens' Frustrations, Anxieties and Burdens of an Online Welfare Benefit System, shared via the arXiv platform.

Another published peer-reviewed paper arising from the project examines the use of a systematic hazard identification method to identify harms with the title HCI - H is also for Hazard: Using HAZOP to Identify Undesirable Consequences in Socio-Technical Systems, which was published in the ACM Conference on Computing and Sustainable Societies 2021 (COMPASS '21).

A previously published peer-reviewed paper, undertaken prior to this project, is related and examines preparing for an in-person appointment for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) paper claim form-filling appointment with the title PIP Kit: An Exploratory Investigation into using Lifelogging to support Disability Benefit Claimants, which was published in the ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems Proceedings 2020 (CHI '20).

These and Colin Watson's other publications are listed in the ACM Digital Library, at ResearchGate and in Google Scholar.

Videos

Two presentations have been recorded during the closing stages of the Digital Benefits and Disbenefits project.

Thesis

The research briefings and other outputs draw on the findings, analysis and discussion published in Colin Watson's thesis Understanding and Reducing the Negative Effects of Digitisation on Claimants' Access to Online Social Protection Services through the Design of Citizen-Controlled Digital Tools, supervised by Dr Ahmed Kharrufa (Open Lab, Newcastle University) and Professor Ruth McAreavey (Sociology, Newcastle University). Colin Watson qualified for the award Doctor of Philosophy in the School of Computing on 18 March 2024.

Digital Benefits and Disbenefits Cornucopia

Digital Benefits and Disbenefits Cornucopia (DBD Cornucopia) is an actionable practical tool created for teams which implement welfare benefit e-government services. The tool's content is based on data collected from participants of the Digital Benefits and Disbenefits project as described in the above thesis, the project's taxonomy of harms (included in Research Briefing NO1), the project's design recommendations and implications (included in Research Briefing NO2), and the author's own professional knowledge and experience. View DBD Cornucopia further information and downloads.

Evidence to Government Bodies

In the UK, the Works and Pensions Committee (WPC), a Commons Select Committee, examines the policies and spending of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). The WPC opened an inquiry into safeguarding vulnerable claimants in 2023 to ensure the DWP is adequately supporting those who find it difficult to interact with the benefit system. A call for evidence was published but was prematurely closed due to the general election and then re-opened again in autumn 2024. Findings and recommendations from the Digital Benefits and Disbenefits project were provided to the WPC who published them on parliament.uk together with all the inquiry's oral and written evidence.

Acknowledgements

The research would not have been possible without the expert knowledge of the participants who were primarily welfare benefit claimants but also others such as those providing advice, support and guidance about welfare benefits. Dr Ahmed Kharrufa and Professor Ruth McAreavey for their supervision. Dr Ahmed Kharrufa, Dr Clara Crivellaro and Adam Parnaby contributed to writing academic papers stemming from the project.

The research was undertaken within Open Lab in the School of Computing at Newcastle University. It was funded by the UK Research and Innovation’s Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Centre for Doctoral Training in Digital Civics (EP/L016176/1), exploring how digital technologies can empower citizens and communities, and create real-world impact for partners Open Lab works with.