Do no harm: Ethics for Drone Data Projects

Thi is the course boolet for a course on ethics for drone data projects. This PDF file allows for the course to be followed when internet connectivity is low and it is not possible for your to follow the course on the ADDA course hub or the geoversity.io learning platform.

The units included in the booklet explore different aspects of the drone data project life cycle and how ethics play a role in them. The focus of this course is on showing how to ask critical questions about drone data projects. We will give you tools that will make you aware of and help you recognise and mitigate ethics concerns.

In the first unit we discuss basic ethics concepts and concerns, in the second unit we will discuss the drone project life cycle and highlight some key ethics concerns that are well known and always need attention. In units three to five we dig deeper into what some of those concerns mean in practice and we will give you some tools for continuously engaging with ethics. Unit six will summarise and repeat key learning points.

Learning Outcomes

At the end of the course you will be able to:  

1.       Link relevance of ethics to drone data supported projects 

2.       List key ethics concerns in designing a drone data supported project 

3.       Recognise multitude of stakeholders effected populations and material objects in Drone Projects 

4.       Explain key principles of ethics by design in relation to the Drone Data Project life cycle 

5.       Differentiate how decolonial and intersectional lenses reframe ethics concerns in humanitarian work

6.       Critique existing projects (including projects labelled ‘ethics proof’) 

7.       Outline possible unintended consequences of the use of a particular  data technology

8.       Plan project processes with ethics evaluations throughout the project life cycle