Recipient organisationNorthern Ireland Stat Res Agency NISRASource-published name: Northern Ireland Stat Res Agency NISRA
Funding£1.3M
PeriodMar 2021 — Mar 2022
In plain English
AI plain-English summary
The UK’s public sector data—from tax records to school rolls—is being linked together and opened to accredited researchers in a secure, anonymised form. This matters because government departments typically hold their data in silos. A child’s educational outcomes, for example, sit in one database, while their family’s housing or health records sit in others. Without linking these, policymakers cannot see the full picture of how different policies interact. ADR UK solves that by creating joined-up datasets that researchers can analyse safely, without compromising privacy. If the partnership succeeds, policy decisions on housing, employment, health, and education will be based on real-world evidence rather than assumptions. A change to Universal Credit, for instance, could be tested against linked data on earnings, school attendance, and hospital visits before it is rolled out. The Northern Ireland team (ADR NI) brings specific expertise in curating and linking large-scale administrative data, and is accredited under the Digital Economy Act to do so. The result is a permanent research infrastructure that quietly improves how public money is spent and how services are delivered—without most people ever noticing.
View original technical description
ADR UK (Administrative Data Research UK) is a partnership transforming the way researchers access the UK’s wealth of public sector data, to enable better informed policy decisions that improve people’s lives. By linking together data held by different parts of government, and by facilitating safe and secure access for accredited researchers to these newly joined-up data sets, ADR UK is creating a sustainable body of knowledge about how our society and economy function – tailored to give decision makers the answers they need to solve important policy questions. ADR UK is made up of three national partnerships (ADR Scotland, ADR Wales, and ADR NI) and the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which ensures data provided by UK government bodies is accessed by researchers in a safe and secure form with minimal risk to data holders or the public. The partnership is coordinated by a UK-wide Strategic Hub, which also promotes the benefits of administrative data research to the public and the wider research community, engages with UK government to secure access to data, and manages a dedicated research budget. ADR UK is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), part of UK Research and Innovation. To find out more, visit adruk.org or follow @ADR_UK on Twitter. The Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) receives funding as part of Administrative Data Research Northern Ireland (ADR NI), a partnership with the Administrative Data Research Centre Northern Ireland (ADRC NI, comprising Queen’s University Belfast and Ulster University). Together they support the acquisition, linking and analysis of administrative data sets, developing cutting-edge research to improve knowledge, policymaking and public service delivery. NISRA is an accredited processor under the Digital Economy Act, and brings proven experience in curating, linking and managing large-scale data sets, employing world-class technological and methodological innovation to support researchers’ access to data sets to transform research and policymaking.
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