SPRITE+ is building a national network to connect researchers, policymakers, and industry around the challenges of digital security, privacy, identity, and trust. The problem is that these issues are often tackled in isolation—computer scientists work on encryption, lawyers on regulation, and psychologists on user behaviour, without a shared framework. This fragmentation means research priorities can miss real-world needs, and policy recommendations may lack a solid evidence base. SPRITE+ aims to break down those silos by creating a structured, ongoing conversation between the people who study these problems and the people who deal with them daily. If the network succeeds, it could reshape how the UK funds and conducts research in this area. The project will produce roadmaps that set future research priorities, informed by a broad community that includes humanities and social science researchers alongside technical experts. Early-career researchers will gain skills in user-centred, impactful work. For the public, this could mean digital services—from online banking to NHS apps—that are designed with security and privacy as core features, not afterthoughts, and that people actually trust enough to use.
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SPRITE+ is a NetworkPlus that will deliver a step change in engagement between people involved in research, practice, and policy relevant to trust, identity, privacy, and security (TIPS) with a focus on digital contexts. SPRITE+ will deliver a coherent, coordinated, multi-disciplinary approach, with strong stakeholder relationships at the centre. Collectively, we will identify and address key research challenges. Our activities will be centred around 'Challenge Themes', which will be broad, future-focused, and important to a wide range of stakeholders, where issues of security, privacy, identity, and trust are all relevant, and where an interdisciplinary approach is essential to fully addressing the Challenge. Examples might be Responsible innovation; Automation, autonomy, acceptability; Usable Security; 'Super-connectivity'; Risk, resilience, and recovery; Digital Identities. Over the lifetime of SPRITE+, Working Groups will explore each Theme, producing comprehensive, cross-disciplinary understanding of key themes and making recommendations for future research priorities. Members will have the opportunity to bid to our £400K research fund via sandpits at which they will co-create proposals with users, e.g., for events, feasibility studies, and sprint reviews. SPRITE+ is led by a Management Team (the PI, 4 co-Is), working closely with Project Partners from across industry, government, third sector and academia. A cadre of Expert Fellows will complement the Management Team's expertise and will help SPRITE+ develop a multidisciplinary approach to realising its vision. Fellows will provide intellectual leadership, take a leading role in Working Groups, and help bridge the gaps between diverse cognate groups and networks. A Strategic Advisory Board will review and develop SPRITE+'s performance. Membership will be open to all with an interest in research on security, privacy, identity, and trust. Members will receive a newsletter, access to online resources, and opportunities to attend events and bid for funds. The outcomes of our activities will be (a) a vibrant collaborative community, with strong collaborative relationships and increased industry investment in new research; (b) an expanded academic TIPS community, that includes researchers from humanities, behavioural and social sciences, and from other areas of 'security science'; (c) a community of Early Career Researchers who understand users and have the skills and knowledge to deliver high quality impactful research in their future careers; (d) mutual support and understanding between cognate groups and networks; and e) a set of roadmaps that shape future research investment priorities.
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