Project R-13405

C-EMPOWER - Socio-technological multi-level analysis of citizen empowerment for governance of personal health data in data-driven technologies (Research)

The proliferation of data-driven technologies offers many opportunities, but also entails new challenges and vulnerabilities, among others in terms of data privacy and autonomy. Users often have little control over their online personal data. As a consequence, the needs for data-related governance and policies that balance the rights to privacy and confidentiality with the collection, processing and use of data for different purposes are high. Although citizen empowerment is of uttermost importance, this is anything but self-evident. Intermediary organisations, in particular local governments and civil society organisations, play an important supportive and facilitating role with regard to citizen empowerment. Therefore, the project has the objective to conceptualise a socio-technological framework to enable intermediate organisations to stimulate citizen empowerment with regard to data privacy and autonomy in an increasingly data-driven society. The 'We Are platform' is used as a case study to achieve this central research objective in relation to personal health data. The needs and requirements of citizens and the role intermediary organizations can play in empowering citizens are mapped out and analysed through different expert interviews and case studies in three Flemish municipalities.

01 January 2023 - 31 December 2024