Ethical assurance of digital mental healthcare

Explaining the science

The method of assurance that this project will rely upon is known as argument- based assurance. This is a process of using structured argumentation to provide evidence-based justification to another party that a system or product will operate as intended within a well-defined environment. Argument-based assurance is an established method of governance in safety-critical areas, and facilitates trustworthy communication between developers and stakeholders.

Key to this method is the development of an assurance case, which serves as a formal and visual means for representing how a particular goal has been achieved, by reference to a set of claims that establish central properties about the system or project. In turn, these claims are warranted by reference to clearly documented evidence that can help stakeholders assess the overall justifiability of the assurance case (or, argument).

Argument-based assurance has a range of supporting tools and mechanisms to enabled the development and review of assurance cases. For instance, there are models and argument patterns that serve as guides and templates for building an assurance case. In addition, there are best practices for how to frame an assurance case so that it supports a wide range of functions, such as anticipatory reflection, risk identification and minimisation, and accessible and transparent communication.

This project will expand these tools and methods such that they can also provide assurance for key ethical goals, such as sustainability, accountability, fairness, and explainability. Because each goal presupposes a core set of normative values, it is vital that ethical assurance is an inherently participatory activity. Therefore, our project will also demonstrate how to support stakeholder engagement and participation and link these activities with the building of an assurance case.