Inside Datafication: Entrepreneurial Research for Investigating Emerging Data Practices

Abstract

At Utrecht University, the Data School embarked on a journey to inves- tigate AI and data practices up close, from within the organizations that implement them. This empirical work thrives on a process involving entrepreneurial activities – practices of collaborative and co-created research enabling researchers to deeply immerse themselves in the societal sectors under investigation. Occupying this privileged position, they do not only gather insights: they can also intervene and immediately apply their findings. This chapter presents how entrepreneurial activities are used for collecting evidence, creating learning opportunities, and possibilities for intervention and social impact. Referring to examples of entrepreneurial research at the Data School, the chapter discusses challenges and opportunities of this approach, and presents practices for mitigating risks.