Dr Rachel Allsopp

Assistant Professor

School: Northumbria School of Law

Dr Rachel Allsopp is an Assistant Professor at Northumbria University Law School. Her research interrogates the intersection of data-driven decision making, regulation and policy from a socio-legal perspective, with a particular interest in gambling regulation.

She holds a PhD in Law from Northumbria University, where her thesis, Big Data in the Production of Safe Gamblers and a Sustainable Gambling Industry: A Genealogy of Gambling Regulation in Great Britain, employed a Foucauldian lens to examine the historical evolution of gambling regulation and interrogate its entanglement with data-driven governance.

Rachel has a practitioner background having been previously employed in the legal department of a Newcastle-based gambling software company and she uses this experience to bring unique insights to her research, as well as her teaching practice. In her research, Rachel seeks to bridge academic research and industry, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration to address complex societal issues in a way which is informed by real-world practices. She has actively participated in academic conferences, interdisciplinary research projects (including the AHRC-funded OMDDAC project which examined data-driven Covid-19 responses), and policy discussions on the ethical implications of data-driven governance.

Her research interests also encompass legal history, genealogy, and the application of critical theory, drawing especially upon Michel Foucault’s insights into power and knowledge.

Rachel teaches on a number of core modules within the Law School, including: Land Law, Property Law and Practice, and Key Skills for Employability, and is module leader of Placements. In her teaching practice, she is passionate about widening participation, championing accessibility and inclusivity in legal education.

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Key Publications

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Data-Driven Decision-Making Beyond COVID-19: Incorporating the Voice of the Child, Bessant, C., Allsopp, R. 21 May 2024, Governance, democracy and ethics in crisis-decision-making, Manchester, Manchester University Press
Editorial: BILETA 2021 Special Issue, Allsopp, R., Brown, A., Maharg, P. 30 Apr 2022, In: European Journal of Law and Technology
Data-Driven Responses to COVID-19: Lessons Learned: OMDDAC Research Compendium, Allsopp, R., Bessant, C., Dawda, S., Ditcham, K., Emmett, C., Higgs, M., Janjeva, A., Li, G., Sutton, S., Warner, M., Oswald, M. 12 Oct 2021
Leveraging the ‘power’ of big data in the production of ‘responsible gamblers’: a Foucauldian perspective, Allsopp, R. 2 Jan 2021, In: Information & Communications Technology Law
Observing Data-Driven Approaches to Covid-19: Reflections from a Distributed, Remote, Interdisciplinary Research Project, Allsopp, R., Bessant, C., Ditcham, K., Janjeva, A., Li, G., Oswald, M., Warner, M. 17 Aug 2021, In: Journal of Legal Research Methodology
OMDDAC Practitioner Guidelines, Allsopp, R., Bessant, C., Dawda, S., Ditcham, K., Emmett, C., Higgs, M., Janjeva, A., Li, G., Sutton, S., Warner, M., Oswald, M. 12 Oct 2021
OMDDAC Snapshot Report 1: Data-driven Public Policy, Allsopp, R., Bessant, C., Dawda, S., Emmett, C., Higgs, M., Janjeva, A., Li, G., Oswald, M., Sutton, S., Warner, M. 18 May 2021
OMDDAC Snapshot Report 2: Tech-driven approaches to Public Health, Dawda, S., Allsopp, R., Bessant, C., Emmett, C., Higgs, M., Janjeva, A., Oswald, M., Li, G., Sutton, S., Warner, M. 18 May 2021
OMDDAC Snapshot Report 3: Policing and Public Safety, Janjeva, A., Allsopp, R., Bessant, C., Dawda, S., Emmett, C., Higgs, M., Li, G., Oswald, M., Sutton, S., Warner, M. 18 May 2021

Professional Activity

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Oral presentation: Data-Driven Approaches to Covid-19: Observations and Lessons for the Future Use of Data 2021
Oral presentation: Breaching the ‘Dam’ of Information Governance? The Potential Legacy of Rapid Data-Driven Responses to Covid-19 2021
Organising a conference, workshop, ...: Rights, Data & Modes of Justification in Response to COVID-19: Reflections from the First Year of the Pandemic 2021
Oral presentation: Big Data Practices in the Online Gambling Industry: a Foucauldian Perspective on the Production of the “Responsible Gambler” 2019