Equitable Technology Laboratory

Placing equity at the heart of innovation

The Equitable Technology Laboratory (ETL) will deliver a reimagined process of innovation that embeds equity in technology development.

Conventional innovation processes fail to engage with the social and political context within which technologies are used and produced. As a result, technologies frequently fail to meet intended needs, reinforce social and economic marginalisation and leave societal priorities unresolved.

The ETL will facilitate collaborations between academia, civil society and public, private and third-sector organisations to deliver solutions that respond to societal need, are appropriate for the context of use, and actively contribute to transforming drivers of inequality.

Contact us

etl-enquiries@york.ac.uk

Project highlights

Environmental monitoring

Co-development toolbox

Experiences of healthcare technology

The transdisciplinary approach of the ETL will not only deliver impact through equitable, socio-technical solutions, it will also establish a new field of applied academic research.

Professor Jonathan Ensor

News and publications

Find out more about recent developments by reading our latest stories and recent publications.

Island Innovation

13 May 2025

Seminar kicks off a week of collaboration between ETL and Isle of Scilly Community Venture.

ETL in Royal Academy of Engineering magazine Ingentia

7 April 2025

An article by ETL members Robert Farnan, Steve Johnson and Jonathan Ensor is now in the Royal Academy of Engineering's magazine, Ingentia.

From Bias to Equity: Rethinking Medical Device Development

20 March 2025

ETL publish a letter in The Guardian newspaper in response to the Equity in Medical Devices: Independent Review.

New ETL publication on equity in medical devices

31 January 2025

A new paper by ETL staff explores how we can better address equity in the design and deployment of medical devices.

More news

Work with us

Researchers

Develop interdisciplinary projects that help to rethink innovation.

Technology developers

Form new collaborations that will help you build technologies that meet the needs of all users.

Technology users

Work with ETL to resolve persistent societal challenges.

The ETL supports scientists and engineers to conduct research that better addresses societal challenges and enables equitable benefits to flow from the application of their technology.

Professor Steven Johnson

Research themes

You can read more about the research themes in ETL’s Equitable technology framework (PDF , 786kb).

Equitable technology methods

Socio-technical engineering

Technology and inequality

YorkTalks 2025

Watch ETL co-lead Jonathan Ensor presenting an overview of our approach to equitable technology at the University of York’s 2025 YorkTalks event.

This talk summarises ETL’s approach as one that is simultaneously social and technical, and foregrounds the knowledge and experience of end users in technology development. Two examples illustrate how this can lead to technologies that provide benefits to otherwise marginalised groups and are able to help transform underlying drivers of inequality.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzTbQgltjLo&t=3s

People

Our team draws together researchers from many different disciplines across the University.

Our expertise is wide-ranging and continuously evolves as new team members join us.

Meet our team

Contact us

etl-enquiries@york.ac.uk