Governance And Trust in Emerging Systems (GATES): An interdisciplinary analysis of smart governance and UK drone delivery systems
GATES is a multi-disciplinary collaboration – law, management, public policy, etc. – between the Universities of Bath, Birmingham (Exeter) and, the West of England - with an initial empirical focus on the Open Skies Cornwall project. We aim to foreground how governance “enables or constrains” delivery drones - especially at scale. Our conceptualization of ‘Governance’ are the dynamic and multi-level interrelations between policy, planning, regulation and practice.
While extensive research delves into the technical challenges of Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) delivery drones, we know that “innovation is not self-driving” (Stilgoe 2020), and so equal importance must be attached to understanding the role of governance. By ‘Governance’, we refer to the intricate dynamics between organized actors, their resources, interests, and rules for collaboration and more specifically our initial model focuses on the interplay between UAS policy, planning, regulation, and practice. Misaligned governance can stifle innovation and national competitiveness, or introduce risks ranging from noise pollution, privacy breaches, to severe national security threats. There is extensive work on drone trustworthiness but this focuses, for the most part, on perceived safety or user experience, side-lining a more holistic approach to governance questions. Our multidisciplinary research intends to answer two primary questions:
- Where are we now? This aims to establish a foundational understanding of current drone governance, considering its dynamic nature, evidenced by the CAA’s frequent updates.
- Where do we want to be? This explores the potential for ‘smart’ drone governance, especially if operating at scale, combining evaluation of past models and forward-looking engagements with industry experts.
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