Future Flight Social Science Considerations and Research

This forward strategy paper provides an initial assessment of the research landscape, to identify five broad and interconnected research themes that the Future Flight Challenge consider priorities for social and economic research attention.

1. Understanding the Innovation Ecosystem: governance, organisational trust, new business models, logistics and operations management.
2. Public and Social Readiness: public perceptions, social desirability, images and narratives.
3. Impacts on Rural and Urban Environments: urban/ rural planning, infrastructure development, and broader environmental issues (including privacy, noise and visual pollution).
4. Communities and Social Impacts: accessibility, socio-economic factors, equality and social inclusion.
5. Trustworthiness, regulatory frameworks and implications: safety, risk, insurance and legal issues.

This forward strategy paper outlines the starting position for wider engagement across academia, industry, and the public sector. The themes outlined, encompassing broad areas of research, are not definitive and reflect the fact that this specific configuration of more and less established social and economic research strands is itself as emergent as the technologies and the innovation ecosystem which we are seeking to study.