Recipient organisationNorthern Ireland Stat Res Agency NISRASource-published name: Northern Ireland Stat Res Agency NISRA
Funding£5.6M
PeriodMar 2022 — Mar 2026
In plain English
AI plain-English summary
The UK’s public sector data—from tax records to school attendance logs—is being stitched together into a single, secure research resource for the first time. Currently, government data sits in separate silos. A researcher studying how childhood poverty affects later earnings might need to combine health, education, and benefits records, but legal and technical barriers make this nearly impossible. ADR UK solves that by creating a trusted system where accredited researchers can safely access linked, anonymised datasets. The Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) is a key partner, bringing expertise in curating and managing large-scale data under the Digital Economy Act. If successful, this will give policymakers direct evidence on what actually works—for example, whether a training programme reduces unemployment, or how housing policy affects hospital admissions. The impact is on the quiet machinery of government: social security systems, public health strategies, education funding, and economic planning. Rather than guessing or relying on small surveys, ministers and civil servants will have answers drawn from millions of real records. The result is better-informed decisions that improve public services without costing extra money.
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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