About us
The Future Flight Social Insight social science research programme is led by researchers at the University of Birmingham who are working as part of the wider UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Future Flight Challenge team. FFSI aims to better understand some of the key social and economic issues relevant to the future of flight. The Future Flight Challenge (FFC) – a £300 million UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) programme, jointly funded by the UK government and industry – aims to stimulate the development of these new aviation technologies in the UK.
However, the FFC encompasses a complex range of social, economic, and environmental issues. Future Flight Social Insight will utilise independent social and economic researchers from the outset to enable a better understanding of how different groups across the UK feel about, and may be impacted by or benefit from, these new forms of aviation.
Future Flight Challenge
The UKRI Future Flight Challenge has a clear plan and strategy for the UK’s future aviation systems, using new classes of hydrogen and autonomous vehicles to transform how we connect people, deliver goods, and provide services. To achieve this, the Future Flight Challenge embeds social science research alongside technology development. This helps build a comprehensive understanding of the complex public, community and stakeholder hopes, concerns or expectations about future flight. This approach leads the way globally in gathering community and social insight at an early stage of technological development.
Future Flight Social Insight: Community-driven Innovation for Future Aviation (FFSI), led by the University of Birmingham, brings together diverse expertise and insight from teams based at: Loughborough University, University of the West of England, University of Bath, De Montfort University, Bournemouth University, University of Leeds, and University of Southampton.
A further aim of this programme of work is to create the social and economic research community of the future to better understand the future roll-out of advanced air mobility in the UK and beyond.
The Team
At the University of Birmingham, we are a multi-disciplinary team of social scientists with expertise in transport studies, governance and public policy, science and technology studies, social exclusion, diversity and inclusion, social psychology and other areas.
