Helena Hollis (she/her)

Helena is a social researcher with a strong participatory focus, committed to building participatory approaches through her work at CONNECTED BY DATA as Field Building Lead.

She formerly worked at the Institute for Community Studies, which is part of the Young Foundation, on a range of social policy oriented projects putting people at the heart of research. This work included focusing on AI and Data Governance in ‘left-behind places’, making research and innovation funding more accessible to marginalised communities, and social infrastructure.

Previously, Helena coordinated a UCL and British Academy research project on AI and the Future of Work, within which she focused on the meaning of “good” work, and on the potential impacts of data-driven technologies such as AI on the most vulnerable, marginalised and disenfranchised groups in society.

Helena has a PhD in Information Studies from UCL, building on her background as a librarian and research methods lecturer. Her PhD research explored the ways in which reading fiction can influence how we think critically, and she remains interested in the role of narratives in shaping our views and approaches.

For a researcher who has spent a little time in the Ivory Tower, and then tried hard to find a career path escaping it, during my time at Connected by Data has been inspiring to see practical examples of how public engagement can shape fairer, more accountable systems of data and AI governance. I have to give a shout out to my favourite design lab and my favourite connected conversation which both shared different approaches to including communities in Ai decision making. This is work I hope to be doing more of, more directly, in the future.

I joined Connected by Data and my first day was an event - A Design Lab on Narratives. The lab brought together experts to address the problematic ways data is framed in media, policy, and industry, exploring the dominant “protection” and “exploitation” narratives. The participants discussed solutions, emphasising the need for collective approaches to data governance, shifting harmful narratives, and fostering collaboration for more sustainable, human-centred data practices​. For me, it was a great introduction to the issues Connected by Data was tackling, as well as the team’s trademark collaborative ways of working. As my PhD research was about the ways reading fiction shapes our critical thinking, starting at Connected by Data with narratives was the perfect hook for me to move into thinking more deeply about data governance issues.

It is fitting that my last day will be an event too: All Campaigns are Data Campaigns. In the event, we will help showcase insights from five community campaigns that explore the power of data across various social justice issues like housing, health, and online safety. The event aims to share strategies for effective data-focused advocacy and provide a platform for campaigners and decision-makers to collaborate on how data governance can be better aligned with community needs. It will be a little bittersweet for me, as I will be sad to see the end of such an inspiring cohort journey, but also excited and to see how Connected by Data and each of the campaigns continues this work going forward.

In one of her weeknotes, Jeni talked about Care, which I have also been interested in from a feminist perspective. In the blog she advocates for care ethics as a framework for data governance and AI development, emphasising relationships, compassion, and context-dependent judgments. She contrasts this with utilitarianism, arguing that care ethics can foster a more just, equitable, and sustainable world by prioritising the voices, experiences, and well-being of all individuals involved, rather than focusing solely on abstract, long-term outcomes. This has stayed with me, and has become a core part of how I approach and think about AI and tech governance more broadly. And what has been lovely in working with Jeni has been seeing her put care into practice, and working at Connected by Data offers constant demonstration of how a workplace can embed care.

Overall, what I feel I have developed most strongly during my time at Connected by Data is my positionality as a researcher. I wrote about this in this blog post. In that post, I discuss my approach to research as “support as radical practice.” I believe research should centre the needs of the community and act as a form of support, not just observation or extraction. My approach focuses on co-production, where researchers and communities work together, ensuring that the communities’ voices, experiences, and priorities shape the research process and outcomes. Working with the Community Data Campaigns has really consolidated my thinking about research in this way, and I feel I am embarking on the next stage of my research journey with this as my solid basis.

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