The aim of the EMoTICON Network is to maximize the effectiveness of the projects funded under the RCUK Empathy and Trust in Online Communications theme as a collective set of activities and support the building of capacity both within the lifetime of the projects and beyond.

Its key objectives are:

1. To build a cross-disciplinary forum for the teams on the five funded projects to come together, share experiences, ideas and results for mutual support and the intellectual and practical development of the projects, as well as maximizing the use of resources and networks. This would include the exploration of cross-cutting questions relating to issues of methodology and ethics in online communications research, for example.
2. To engage the wider academic community in the broad EMoTICON theme with a view to building capacity and new projects through dialogue and exploration.
3. To act as a portal to the wider programme for knowledge exchange with a range of non-academic partners, including existing project partners and new potential partners in order to maximize impact beyond the academy.
4. To link to other academic/RCUK-funded networks, such as the Digital Personhood Network (http://www.digitalpersonhood.org/index.php ), the Social Computing and Mental Health Research Network, and the Personal Data and Trust Network (http://www.pdtn.org/ ), for engagement and shared activities.
5. To explore international links for the network with a view to future collaborations and to disseminate the work of the projects more widely.
6. To enhance the collective public engagement of the programme through promotion of the projects and to act as a public portal to the research funded under this theme.

The five funded projects are:

• A Shared Space & A Space for Sharing
• LiDA Loneliness in the Digital Age
• The Trust Map
• CuRAtOR Challenging online fear and OtheRing
• A Taxonomy of UK crowdfunding and examination of the potential of trust and empathy in Project success.

The EMoTICON network is funded through the following cross-council programmes:

• Partnership for Conflict, Crime and Security Research (led by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)
• Connected Communities (led by the Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC)
• Digital Economy (led by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)

and in partnership with the:
Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) and the Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure (CPNI).