Artwork commission

This call for expressions of interest closed on 1 July 2026.

The ESRC Digital Good Network is commissioning an artwork or visualisation representing our research and findings. This could be created by an artist or visualiser working alone or with others.

The final artwork will open up new ways for audiences to engage with our research and findings.

The final artwork needs to be simple, visually engaging and effective at communicating to multiple audiences. It will be displayed in:

• physical exhibitions (the first of which is in June 2027)
• online
• a Z-fold leaflet (if the chosen medium permits)
• possibly elsewhere

There are two-stages to our commissioning process. 

In the first stage, we ask for Expressions of Interest (EOI). From the Expressions of Interest received, we will shortlist up to five proposals to further develop their ideas and submit a proposal that demonstrates how they would approach this commission. 

We will pay £1,000 (inclusive of VAT where charged) to each proposing team shortlisted to develop their ideas. Shortlisted artists may select any aspect of our work for this stage. The fee will be subject to standard University terms and conditions (please see the sole trader template or company template).  

You can find out about our work on our website. Our team can answer any questions you might have as you develop your thinking by email at info[@]digitalgood.net.

In the second stage, we will select one of the proposals submitted for the final artwork, which will be a substantial piece of work for multiple outputs. We have a budget of up to £40,000 for this (inclusive of VAT where charged).

We welcome expressions of interest from artists based outside of the UK. However, due to tax regulations, the budget for artists based outside of the UK must be a maximum of £33,333 (as we need to account for ‘reverse charge VAT’ in our £40,000 budget).

Timeline 

2 June 2026: EOI invitation goes live
10 June 2026: online Q&A (watch here)
1 July 2026, 4pm (UK time): EOI commission closes
July 2026: EOI artists selected
August – September 2026: shortlisted artists work up proposals
October 2026: final commission of artist/s from EOI process. Contract issued and final brief agreed.
November 2026 – February 2027: artist works iteratively with two named members of the Digital Good Network management team on the artwork
February 2027: final artwork completed and signed off.

About the Digital Good Network and the material to be visualised 

The ESRC Digital Good Network is an interdisciplinary, cross-sector, research network. We are focused on the question: what does a good digital society look like, and how do we get there? We have funded and supported over 70 research projects, hosted training, webinar and other events. You can find out more about all of our activities on our website. We engage with policy, industry and community stakeholders to ensure our work is aligned to their needs and has impact. 

The ultimate aim of the Digital Good Network is to ensure that digital technologies benefit people and societies. In today’s digital society, the negative consequences of digital innovations have received a lot of attention – from researchers, policy- and news-makers, in the UK and around the world. This is because even the most well-intentioned technologies can end up doing harm. It’s essential to make harms visible, of course. But that is only a start. We also need to ask ourselves what kind of digital society we want. To ensure that digital technologies have good outcomes for society, we need to imagine a better digital future. Since November 2022, we have been busy doing this, inspired by the words of US sociologist and critical race scholar, Ruha Benjamin:

The ultimate aim of the Digital Good Network is to ensure that digital technologies benefit people and society.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

We will update this section with responses to Frequently Asked Questions (last updated 12.6.2026).

Application process / logistics:

Are there any specifics about the expected EOI form – short video explanation, sketch concept, mini presentation, mockup? Will there be any data provided to shape this EOI?

In order to make the shortlisting process manageable there is only space for:

• a (single) link to your website, social media or other online portfolio
• an optional additional single page, saved as a PDF, outlining how you would approach this brief

We don’t have any rules about what the link or optional one pager should contain – we want to leave this open so you can show us what you think is relevant.  You might tell us why you’re the person for the job, you might tell us how you think you might approach it, you might want to highlight previous work that you’ve done that you think is relevant.

In terms of data – there is no data as such but we’ve provided some suggested reading material on this web page (just above these FAQs) which may provide some inspiration.  We invite you to have a look at the ones that look to be of interest to you.

If the weblink directs you to a page where you can click and open multiple artworks/samples of work, is that acceptable? In other words, how can we show you a range of work that we have done?

Yes – as long as it’s a single web link this is fine.

When preparing the optional one-page brief, should we give an example of how we would approach one of your data sets, or multiple themes/findings we find interesting from the project?

You certainly can do that. You can give one example, or you could highlight multiple things that you find interesting. That would help us get a sense of how you might approach this.

Do we share a CV as part of the EoI? Or can one be included on our website (to which we provide a single link)?

In order to make the shortlisting process manageable there is only space for:

• a (single) link to your website, social media or other online portfolio – these could  include a CV as part of the web link content
• an optional additional single page, saved as a PDF, outlining how you would approach this brief – this could be a CV if you wanted

Please note – a formal CV is not obligatory.

My question is about the permission of using AI. I’m thinking about producing a series of AI generated videos and paintings. Would that be allowed?

We expect the final output not to use AI. If you use AI in your process, please tell us how you have used it. If you have any doubts or questions about this, please email us: info@digitalgood.net.

Will you also be open to taking the exhibition outside of the UK?

In principle yes but there are, of course, budgetary matters to take into account here.  We don’t currently have the budget to take this overseas.

You state in the timeline the artwork should be complete by the end of February 2027 – is this when the artist’s involvement would end?

We expect there would still be some additional engagement required after this with our curator / web designer / technicians etc to ensure the exhibition can be shown as intended.

Are we expected to send the budget at the first stage or later (if we get selected)?

We would not expect this during the first stage (expression of interest).  We would expect this from shortlisted artists only.

Is it also open to artists outside the UK?

Yes.  We welcome expressions of interest from artists based outside of the UK. However, due to tax regulations, the budget for artists based outside of the UK must be a maximum of £33,333 (as we need to account for ‘reverse charge VAT’ in our £40,000 budget).

What is the DGN website’s architecture/infrastructure (e.g., Is it JavaScript friendly, does it make available connections to relational or non-relational databases)?

We use WordPress (= connects to relational databases) and it is javascript friendly. We work with a web designer and developer who will help us make things work. 

Can applications be submitted by individual artists only, or may a UK university act as the contracting organisation for a commissioned artist employed by the university – envisioning a ‘buyout’ of time?  

We are open to and willing to support this approach rather than commissioning a ‘sole trader’ or ‘limited company’. We cannot confirm full details of exact processes yet, as doing so would require us liaising with our contracts team, and we can’t do this at this stage.

What are the assessment criteria? 

• Strength of previous work
• Strength of ideas
• Feasibility
• Alignment to DGN aims.

Who will be assessing the proposals and shortlisting?

• Professor Helen Kennedy FBA FAcSS, Director of the Digital Good Network, Professor of Digital Society, University of Sheffield
• Dr Dan Richards, Digital Good Network Management Team (Technology Translation Lead) & Lecturer in Data Prototyping and Visualisation, Imagination Lancaster, Lancaster University
• Alison Morton, Exhibition Curator, Sheffield

Format/style:

Should the final outcome be a single visual piece, or can it consist of multiple related graphics?

This is something that we are open about. All of this will be talked about at the final commissioning stage and that’s when the brief is drawn up as a conversation between us and the artists.

We put a few examples that inspire us on the website. One of them was an American scholar, Kate Crawford, who has worked with an artist on two projects. One’s called An Anatomy of AI, and the other is called Calculating Empires. When you look at Calculating Empires online it’s one long piece, but, when it was presented physically it was in a room on panels as one big piece with lots of pieces within it. So the answer can be both.

‘We expect the exhibition to take the form of 2D panels’. Is screen-based, digital artwork, static or interactive, considered as 2D in this remit?

We are open to this format but if any expensive equipment would be needed to show this installation then this would need to be factored into your budget.

Are you also open to the idea of an exhibit expanded as an experience to showcase the vision/objective of the Digital Good Network’s works?

Yes if you can make this work within the budget and space available. Please note we expect to have confirmation of room dimensions etc in August 2026.

Do you have any expectations from the visual style? For example does the final output have to adhere to a clean minimal design or is a more open, fun, colorful, humane style welcome?

We do not have set expectations on this – we look forward to hearing and seeing your ideas on this.

What constraints are there for 3D artworks? 

We are currently finalising which rooms will be used for the exhibitions but there will be two different spaces to work with – one in a University building on the Sheffield campus in June 2027 (either in a room or large foyer) and a second in London in September 2027 in a room – so transferability is key.  We also hope to exhibit again in future in other locations.

We expect to have detailed room information in August 2026. We will work together with the chosen artist to ensure that the final artwork can be displayed as intended.  If you have any specific questions we may be able to answer these with the information we currently have – please feel free to send any specific questions through to info@digitalgood.net.

Does the artwork need to align with the branding guidelines of DGN?

No

For each output type/format, is the desire to have pretty much the same visual content shown across each or can it be quite a range of different output ambitions, albeit sharing a common signature style/identity? Eg. should what is shown on the exhibit also be shown on the leaflet or can each be treated in its own way to optimise its own size/shape/potential?

Having a common style identity is important – one reason we’re wanting to commission one artist or a group working closely together is that we do get one signature, style and look but there doesn’t necessarily need to be an exact repetition of information across the different outputs – these can vary.

How big is the Z-fold leaflet?

To be confirmed, but we envisage fairly small – A5 or even A6.

General:

The “research and findings” this project invites to be visualised/communicated, is that an assimilation of all themes emerging from across all these distinct research projects/funding/fellowships or is it more specific and perhaps selective of just some pockets of discoveries?

Given the number of research projects we’ve funded – visualising them all would be very difficult – so it’s more the latter and a question of being selective.

The Digital Good Network management team is trying to do a bit of synthesis work ourselves, so it’s definitely not going to be left to the artist to do that.  We produced a document in March 2025 that’s called ‘Evaluating the societal outcomes of digital technologies: building blocks and reflexive questions’. This is a year old now, but it’s an attempt to do some synthesis, and that is ongoing for us. We will definitely share our synthesised work with the artist but we would not be asking a visualiser to visualise all themes emerging from across all of the projects.

When it comes to impact and considering the audience we’re attempting to impact, who are these target people groups – what are their characteristics?  Are they everyday people, tech industry reps, kids (the future participants of a digital society), policy makers etc?

The first exhibition will be part of our academic conference in June 2027 but we want the audience to go beyond academics.  We will also be showing the exhibition at a policy focused event in London in September 2027 so for the purpose of this exhibition the artwork would need to speak to policymakers who need easily accessible, visually appealing, quick-to-absorb information.  We’d also see members of the public as an additional audience. In future we would hope to exhibit at events such as the ‘Festival of Social Science’ and the ‘Festival of the Mind’.  These types of events are often about taking academic research in the social sciences and arts and the humanities to the public.

On balance, policymakers are probably the primary audience (this includes people who might be responsible for policy within an organisation).

What would you like your proposed audiences to take away from the work after experiencing / engaging with it?

We would like people to think that things can change for the better. We’d like to show people different and better ways of doing digital tech.  It could be encouraging a policymaker in an organisation to think ‘I could do these things, and things might change for the better’.  Or it could be encouraging an individual member of the public to think ‘I could do these things, and things might change for the better for me’.

What does success look like for the commission? Is the main goal public understanding, emotional engagement, policy influence, academic dissemination, press/visibility, or legacy beyond the exhibition?

Success would be translating conversations and complex research into something that is easy for a non-academic or non-specialist to engage with and understand.  It’s going to be important, also, to showcase a variety of stories of the potential of the digital to be good, and show what those examples are. All of the things listed in this question would also be markers of success – we feel that if you secure emotional engagement many of the other things will follow.  Finally – press visibility and a legacy beyond the ‘Digital Good Network’ project (ie policy maker engagement) would also be markers of success.

You say you want to visualise Digital Good Network research – are you open to projects that visualise what may be left out? 

We wouldn’t want a visualisation that is fully about what we haven’t done – that isn’t the purpose. We believe we have funded some fantastic researchers to do some good work that has implications for how things might be better and that’s the story that we would want to tell. We would be open to having the question of ‘what haven’t we done?’ being a part of it, but it shouldn’t be the main focus.

What policy do you want to see changed?

This is a big question and it depends on the project. For example one of our projects, which is based in Scotland, is about sustainable computing in schools and is advising the Scottish Government on its policy about computer use in schools. Another project was about the digital welfare state, so there’s a policy area there about the digitising of welfare and who then is unable to access welfare because it is digitised. There are lots of potential routes for policy change, because there’s lots of research going on.

Could you say a bit more about the expected working relationship after selection? For example, how much collaboration and engagement with the Digital Good Network team and researchers do you anticipate during the development of the artwork?

We anticipate that you would work directly with two people from the management team. This would be the Director, Helen Kennedy and Dan Richards, Lecturer in Data Prototyping and Visualisation at Lancaster University.  Alison Morton, our Curator, may also be involved at some points.  We would expect to agree together on a series of moments of connection. It’s hard to say exactly because there’s so much potential diversity here about what the project might look like. 

One of the questions that came to us before the Q&A webinar was about whether you would be able to, or expected to talk to some of the other people whose research forms part of the Digital Good Network. We would encourage this. We expect that people would love to talk to you because we do find that people in the network are really keen to engage with network activities but this would depend on their availability and willingness so there isn’t a requirement for that.

What expectations do you have beyond the exhibition such as talks, presentations etc?

We don’t have any concrete expectations here but it would be brilliant to do some such events.  It’s also worth noting that the Management Team (approx 10 researchers) is hoping to write a book. We may also want to feature the artwork in this book and write about it – if the selected artist was keen to be part of that process that would be good. We will want to retain the right to use your artwork in different ways – we’d work closely together with the artist on any future ideas linked to the work.