Using government administrative data for research?

On the 16th May the Welcome Trust will host a seminar exploring the results of the ESRC/ONS joint Dialogue on Data: Exploring the public’s views on using administrative data (government collected data) for research purposes.

During October and November 2013, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) commissioned IPSOS Mori to undertake a public dialogue in seven UK locations to explore views on using government administrative data for research purposes.

The overall objectives were to explore public understanding and views of administrative data and data linking. The dialogue focused on two uses of administrative data, one that is currently being established and one that may go ahead in future:

  • The new ESRC-funded Administrative Data Research Network (ADRN) that was set up in late 2013 
  • The potential use of administrative data linking as one of the options for conducting the 2021 census (alongside an annual survey).

This seminar will present the findings to policy professionals, science communicators and public engagement specialists as well as showcase how they are being used. It will also explore with attendees what further work is needed in this area.

To register for the seminar please email your name, contact number and organisation to events@esrc.ac.uk.

Further information can be found here – Dialogue on Data: Exploring the public’s views on using linked administrative data for research purposes (PDF, 3Mb)