7 Aug 2024
As he looks towards retiring at the end of September, our Director of Inclusive Research, Eric Harris, shares his reflections of the last 11 years working at RiDC.
"On being asked to write something reflective about my last 11½ years at RiDC, I found myself scanning Outlook for any hints to what my first few days at RiDC were like."
"But before I tell you what I found, let me say a little of my journey to this, my last (official) job.
"At the age of 54 I had already collected a number of professions: from sailor to researcher, via taxi driver, robotics engineer and Research Fellow. My 13 years as a Research Fellow at Sussex University started as a technologist - building wireless devices connecting everyday objects and sensors and sharing information to mobile computing devices which were destined to become today’s smartphones. We were exploring a vison of a ubiquitous computing future where everything is connected and information is freely exchanged with the potential to embellish people’s lives (I know, I know). I ended my time as Research Fellow studying how people might make sense of this new world using user centred design research methods.
"As a side project during this time, I created a website called OlderView.com in which I asked and reported on the thoughts from a small panel of approximately 50 older people on various topics around new and emerging technologies. On seeing a job advert for a Senior Researcher at what was then RICA, which involved researching the experiences of disabled and older people. I thought, I would be a good match and could make a difference. Luckily the people at RICA thought the same.
"So, what did Outlook have to say about those first few days? Apart from being encouraged to read the staff handbook and RICA research procedures manual, I was guided to meeting people from our board of trustees who have lived experience of disability. I was pointed to Phil Friend’s OBE blog and invited to talk to Jill Allen-King OBE, the latter of which proved to be an absorbing hour where I not only learnt of her life story but benefited from her patience and understanding whilst talking about the world of disability which I was entering. Personal contact with disabled people from our Consumer Panel and Board of Trustees set the scene for the next 11 ½ years and gave a ‘messy real-world’ view of disability and the challenges people face.
"Our Consumer Panel of disabled and older people - which is the heart and soul of RiDC - has grown ten-fold since I joined and currently has nearly 5,000 members: a diverse collection of people from all walks of life.
It has been a privilege (and research necessity!) to be regularly reminded of the ‘person’ behind the participant, which in turn underlines the reality that disability does not discriminate, people do.
"During my first two years at RICA, many of the projects I worked on looked at the accessibility and inclusivity of: semi-autonomous vehicles, food and pharmaceutical packaging, telecommunications (home and mobile internet), and rail travel. Although my role has changed – I am now RiDC’s Director of Inclusive Research- it seems that the issues have not, as recent projects include fully autonomous vehicles, food and pharmaceutical packaging, telecommunications (Video on Demand), and rail travel. Although the clients and details differ from the earlier projects, for me, this tells a story of the continuing need to improve accessibility, which is often seen as an afterthought by many.
"Whilst I’ve been at RiDC, our overarching research approach has remained fundamentally unchanged. We mostly use mixed methods of qualitative and quantitative data collection either to inform survey design or to better understand survey data. Of course, there is much nuance to how we go about doing this, and we actively embrace many emerging methods and technologies to positively support engagement with our panel.
Active engagement is key to our research work, and we are always looking at new ways of achieving this.
"One of the most impactful projects I’ve worked on was researching how accessible new electric charging points were for electric vehicles. We accompanied panel members and visited charging points in Nottingham and London with an electric vehicle (thanks to Motability!) and asked people to charge them. The results were not good but the impact that the report had and the consequent changes to policy recommendations for accessible EV charge points, was.
"Thinking about the challenges that disabled people face over the coming few years, I am particularly struck by what the role of artificial intelligence ‘AI’ might be. Although this technology will not solve all the problems that disabled people face, its potential to improve the accessibility of products and services clearly exists. However, there needs to be the active involvement and inclusion of disabled people especially in the development of the knowledge bases used to underpin AI applications.
"AI will also have an impact on my research colleagues and how they carry out research both in research design and data analysis. My ubiquitous computing past is letting me know it is still there shaping the present and the future.
"What RiDC has taught me is the importance of recognising the diversity and individuality of people. I hope the future understands this as well."
If you'd like to contact Eric before he goes, you can
contact him here
