Liverpool City Region Residents' Assembly on Data and AI Innovation

In March 2025, we brought together 59 Liverpool City Region residents to debate the direction of data and AI innovation in the region.

Last updated: 26th June 2025

What we did

Every day more and more data is collected about what we do and where we live. At the same time we hear a lot about ‘AI’, chatbots, and digital tech. These technologies are built using information and data about us. Data can be used to make better decisions and build beneficial technology for our local area. It can also get things wrong.

In the Liverpool City Region, we know that giving our residents more of a say on data and AI use in community will help us get things right.

We supported residents to build a set of principles on what trustworthy and beneficial data innovation looks like, that can be used to help inform future local projects that use data with an impact on peoples lives.

Residents took part in four in-person days split across learning and deliberation held in Liverpool City Centre. This included presentations from experts and stakeholders as well as interactive learning activities. An independent evaluator reviewed all materials and sessions. On the final day residents suggested potential principles for the Charter and ranked their preferred options. After additional resident and stakeholder review, a final charter of 11 principles was developed.

These principles form a Liverpool City Region Community Charter on Data and AI, one of the first of its kind in the world. This gives innovators and researchers in the region an actionable social license for data and AI innovation.

My hope is that if used with the best interests with the public in mind, the use of data and AI can drastically improve healthcare, public services, education, and local services like that.
– Assembly Participant, Table 6, Day 4

What our residents said

Residents expressed a strong hope that human dignity and integrity would be the core value for data and AI projects. They want Liverpool to lead the way in community-focussed innovation.

The 11 Charter principles include include ideas about beneficial data use, communication on AI, privacy and security, and external oversight.

Assembly participants are worried about a future where the benefits of data and AI aren’t felt equitably. Trustworthy and beneficial data and AI means no community in the LCR is left behind. The principles lay the groundwork for what residents expect of civic and health innovation in the region.

Read the full LCR Community Charter on Data and AI here.

I'm just hopeful that we can be a voice for the people in the region like because it's such a diverse group. You’ve got everyone – people from all walks of life.
– Assembly Participant, Table 2 Day 3

Final Report and Charter

Read our full report to learn more about what we did and how we did it.

What you’ll find inside:

The LCR Community Charter on Data and AI
Quotes and themes from residents on their views of data and AI
Guidance on what to read for different audiences
Methods and reflections on the Assembly

Download the Final Report- to be published 3 July 2025

Download the Charter – to be published 3 July 2025

Our independent evaluation will be posted here when complete.

Frequently asked questions

Who took part in the Assembly?

The assembly included 59 residents deliberately chosen to represent both the six local authorities and the diversity of the LCR. We will ensure an equal spread of men and women, as well as representation across age, ethnicity, disability, socioeconomic status, and AI literacy.

We recruited participants via post through a randomised mail-out.

Who ran and funded the Assembly?

The Liverpool City Region Civic Data Cooperative ran the assembly. The LCR Civic Data Cooperative’s mission is to make data about the region work for the people who live here. We engage communities across the patch to give them a say on the form and impact of data and data technologies. The NHS Cheshire and Merseyside Data into Action programme, the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, and the University of Liverpool’s Civic Health Innovation Labs jointly convened the Assembly. The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority funded this work through the Civic Data Cooperative.

My fear is the downside – AI will just be used really to make money rather than benefiting the people or the majority.
– Assembly Participant, Table 2, Day 3

Materials and resources

We’ve included links below to all of the materials and resources we used to run the Assembly. We encourage other local and regional governments to use our resources to develop their own data and AI dialogues.

These resources are available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0). Available at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/

Under the terms of this licence, you may copy, redistribute and adapt the materials for non-commercial purposes, provided the work is appropriately cited, as indicated below.

The use of the Residents’ Assembly logo is not permitted. If you adapt the resources, then you must license your work under the same or equivalent Creative Commons licence.

Facilitator guide and training notes

Activity tools

Information sheets, consent, and distress protocols

Session slides

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