'RITEC' stands for Responsible Innovation in Technology for Children. Between 2020 and 2024, a team of scholars lead by Dr. Fiona Scott at The University of Sheffield have been delivering innovative, international research focused on children’s digital play and well-being. 

Funded by the LEGO Foundation and working alongside the LEGO Group and UNICEF Innocenti, the team has delivered in-depth case study research with 50 families, across four countries. 

The ‘RITEC’ project’s ultimate goal is to change how digital games are designed, putting children’s well-being at the centre of international policy and game design processes.

Past research has often emphasised the risks of children’s digital play and has also highlighted the important learning that takes place when children play digitally. 

The RITEC project looked more broadly at how aspects of children’s well-being connect with particular digital play experiences. This was achieved through detailed research with 50 children aged 6-12 and their families. Following an ecocultural approach, the research tools were designed to investigate digital play holistically. The research team sought to understand children’s digital play within the complex contexts of their broader everyday lives. 

The team of 20 researchers have made 240 in-depth research visits to 50 families in four countries.

In Sheffield, the team comprises Principal Investigator, Fiona Scott, alongside Co-Investigator, Dr. Liz Chesworth, researchers Dr. Shabana Roscoe, Mr. Daniel Kuria, Dr. Cath Bannister and Dr. Yao Wang. The team has been supported in Sheffield by Research Administrator, Miss Cat Hartley. 

The project team includes three further Co-Investigators, leading the research in: Australia (Professor Karen Murcia, Curtin University), South Africa (Professor Karin Murris, Oulu University) and Cyprus (Associate Professor Stavroula Kontorvourki, University of Cyprus), alongside their respective research teams. Read more about all 21 members of the team on the 'Our team' page. 

UNICEF published the findings of the RITEC project's Phase 2 in April 2024. You can read the Phase 2 report here.

In Phases 3 and 4 of the initiative, academics from across the team will are working game designers and policy makers to make sure their empirical findings inform future game design. Some of this work is being led by the Joan Ganz Cooney Centre. So far, one important output of this research is the UNICEF-led 'RITEC Design Toolbox', which provides designers with practical tools for incorporating support for children’s well-being into their design process. It provides an overview of how to design for children’s well-being in digital play, including a list of relevant game design features. You can find out more and access the full Toolbox for free here.