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University of Essex homepage Centres and Institutes Institute for Analytics and Data Science Working with partners
Institute for Analytics and Data Science

Working with partners

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Harness the power of data

Data is essential for business, public services, and policy making. We’re working with businesses, governments, local authorities, NGOs and third sector organisations, taking on the challenges that the data revolution brings.

Some of our recent strategic partnerships include:

  • Award-winning Knowledge Transfer Partnerships with a number of businesses including telecoms giant BT
  • Essex Centre for Data Analytics
  • Essex County Council
  • Essex Police
  • Suffolk County Council

You can find out more about our work with our partners below:

Working with industry

We help businesses drive innovation, productivity and competitiveness and we provide new insights into their customers to help companies deliver even better experiences.

AI for Services Hub

Artificial intelligence (AI) can deliver real benefits for businesses and our new AI For Services hub, brings together leading Essex academics to design solutions for the professional services industry.

The hub helps businesses to innovate across a wide range of industry sectors including health, finance, insurance, logistics, manufacturing, construction, agriculture.

Knowledge Transfer Partnerships

We are the leading university in the East of England and London for Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs), the flagship Innovate UK programme. This national scheme part-funds a collaboration between your business and our University.

KTPs help businesses to improve their competitiveness and productivity by making better use of the knowledge, technology and skills within universities, colleges and research organisations.

Current KTPs

G's Growers Ltd

Developing an intelligent simulator system to apply new techniques in data science to the challenge of predicting and managing variance in iceberg lettuce crop.


Read about our work with G's Growers Ltd

BT

Developing methods that will leverage data across all channels to optimise interactions with customers.

Fisher Jones and Greenwood LLP

Utilising Natural Language Processing (NLP) to accelerate and automate the generation of new business leads via a conversational agent, which will combine elements of a chatbot and novel UX design.

Prequin Ltd

KTP 1

Developing faster, more automated extraction of key criteria from investment research by embedding AI and Machine Learning techniques across the unique Preqin investor platform.

KTP 2

Using cutting-edge knowledge graph and network science research to enable the firm to generate advanced insights from huge volumes of dissimilar data.


Read about our work with Prequin

Recently completed KTPs

Data Spartan

Investigating the use of algorithms (genetic + reinforcement) for the identification of optimal asset trading strategies.

Hood Group

Embedding machine learning and principles of AI technology to gain greater insight into the insurance customer journey.


Read about our work with Hood Group

Orbital Media and Advertising Ltd

The design and development of a scalable, avatar based, digital healthcare platform, driven by AI and Machine Learning technology which provides medically approved health advice to people who seek medical information online.

Provide CIC

The creation of a decision making engine using AI and NLP to reduce the frequency of face-to-face clinician appointments by identifying the type of service patients needs and then guides them to the required level of support.


Read about our work with Provide CIC

TT Education

The development of a new CPD tracker using AI and embedded machine learning to track and enhance performance of all staff and provide insight into effective strategies.

Dr Alejandro Quiroz Flores
"Collaboration with government is an essential part of our work in IADS. We work with local and central government in multiple areas, from health to crime and economic growth and inequality, among others. We are also part of new initiatives for the use of data for the public good, including the new Essex Centre for Data Analytics. IADS also contributes to increasing capacity in data science in local government and the region in general through its Summer School and the data science courses provided by the University, including our new MSc in Social Data Science."
Dr Alejandro Quiroz Flores Reader and chief scientific adviser, Department of government

Influencing public policy

We’re leaders in applying scientific advances to public policy, health and wellbeing. We help our public sector partners develop their data science and analytics skills so they can tackle complex  data challenges.

Chief Scientific Adviser to Essex County Council

We were the first university in the UK to appoint a Chief Scientific Adviser to a local government authority. From 2019, Professor Alex Quiroz-Flores served as the Chief Scientific Adviser for Essex and in June 2024, Dr Spyros Samothrakis became the new Chief Scientific Adviser for Essex.

Essex County Council is one of England’s largest local authorities. The Chief Scientific Adviser is tasked with transforming the delivery of public services by embedding data science into government decision-making.

Catalyst Project (Essex County Council and Suffolk County Council)

The Catalyst Project aimed to  helped Essex County Council and Suffolk County Council to improve services for vulnerable people –  by using our expertise in data analytics and cutting-edge scientific methods to assess risks and evaluate the impact of their initiatives and target services for vulnerable people.

Essex Centre for Data Analytics (Essex County Council and Essex Police)

Through the innovative Essex Centre for Data Analytics (ECDA) Essex Police, the University and Essex County Council  have joined together to share their data, knowledge and skills.

The ECDA uses data from multiple partners, to understand problems affecting the people of Essex by using the talent of our University researchers and government analysts to find insight and knowledge in their data. The ambition is to reduce harm, provide better services and to protect the most vulnerable people in the community.

Data analytics to inform policymaking

Since 2019, we’ve partnered with the Open Innovation Team (OIT), which fosters links between government departments and academics to develop analysis and ideas in key policy areas.

As part of this collaboration, our data science and artificial intelligence experts, with the Chief Scientific Adviser, worked with the OIT to experiment with how data analytics and insight from data can be used in government to maximize impact and inform policymaking.

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