Annual Report 2023-2024
Public sector data has the potential to help us understand how society functions – and to change it for the better. Data-driven insights equip decision-makers with the evidence they need to drive improvements in policy and practice, and to tackle pressing national and global challenges.
I’ve been delighted to see the ADR UK programme continue to go from strength to strength this year. By supporting researchers to access de-identified administrative data for public good research and to generate actionable insights from this data, ADR UK is making a real difference across the UK.
ADR UK is an integral part of the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)’s mission to enhance the UK’s data research landscape. Developing researchers’ skills to use social science data, and providing the suitable infrastructure for them to do so, are key priorities in ESRC’s Strategic Delivery Plan. ADR UK’s ambitious activities help to ensure we deliver on this vision.
Likewise, ESRC’s growing portfolio of investments provides rich opportunities for collaboration. This year has seen the continued development of Smart Data Research UK, which aims to unlock the potential of data generated through everyday interactions with digital devices. And the Future Data Services programme, designed to establish what is needed for the next generation of ESRC’s federated data services beyond 2024, concludes this year. It has been inspiring to see learning shared across ADR UK and ESRC’s wider programmes, as we work to transform the way data is used for research that supports the public good.
Stian Westlake
We have seen much discussion of major societal challenges this year, from the adequate provision of health and social care to the transition to a green economy. It’s clear that administrative data – when used securely for public good research – holds vast potential to enable insights that address many of these challenges. I’m delighted to see the progress ADR UK continues to achieve in enabling more of this ground-breaking work.
ADR UK is informing ESRC’s programme of work to increase data-driven research skills. Working collaboratively, ADR UK has developed and piloted a range of approaches to complement the ESRC’s vision for strengthened capability across different career stages and disciplines when it comes to data. The focus this year has included dataset-specific training courses, a comprehensive support package for the ADR UK cohort of PhD students, and signposting to relevant and recommended tools and resources from across ESRC’s investments.
There have also been opportunities for ADR UK to collaborate on broader ESRC data activities, including synthetic data and upskilling staff and researchers working in digital research infrastructure environments. In the sector more broadly, ADR UK’s continued support of the Data and Analytics Research Environments UK (DARE UK) programme ensures our data investments benefit from its findings as outputs from DARE UK’s driver projects explore the requirements for a UK-wide network of trusted research environments.
Above all, it’s imperative that these collaborative efforts advance the use of data to inform positive changes to real people’s lives. I’ve been pleased to see the development of ADR UK’s participation in the Cancer Data Driven Detection (CD3) initiative, a partnership with Cancer Research UK and Health Data Research UK supported by ESRC and EPSRC. The ambitions of the partnership to drive up the use of data in preventing, detecting and diagnosing cancer early reflect the exciting possibilities for impact offered by ADR UK’s model and approach.
As we draw closer to the conclusion of ADR UK’s current funding period in 2026, I look forward to the continued progress of the programme – and the positive impact it brings.
Professor Alison Park
As we undertake an external evaluation of our programme to provide evidence on its effectiveness to make the case for continuing investment, I have been struck by the remarkable progress across the ADR UK partnership. Our impact is clear now, across all four UK countries and across a wide range of projects and activities, demonstrating the power of ADR UK’s partnership approach.
ADR UK was established in response to a fragmented system where, as government departments and public bodies often collect data in isolation, there was no joined up approach to linking data across sources for research on policy relevant topics. By facilitating a UK-wide model for securely sharing this data, ADR UK today presents an impressive portfolio of linked (and linkable) datasets, which have been accessed by thousands of accredited researchers for public good research. Our partners across the four UK nations are making strides improving the researcher journey - from data linkage, to access and support, to impactful research. Recent achievements can be found in key developments and our impact.
We continue to collaborate closely with the Office for National Statistics (ONS) to ensure continuity in maintaining an external-facing research service, as the Integrated Data Programme scales up to deliver a transformation in the way UK Government data is made available for analysis and research. In addition to an expansion of ADR England flagship datasets held in the ONS Secure Research Service (SRS), this year saw the Integrated Data Service (IDS) becoming accredited under the Digital Economy Act 2017, enabling projects to start in the IDS where the appropriate data and tooling are available. ADR UK is working to champion the interests of the research community and ensure their needs continue to be met.
Data about individuals is central to ADR UK’s work, so it’s vital that public perspectives guide our decisions. That’s why we set up the ADR England Public Insights Panel this year, the latest addition to our portfolio of existing public panels in Scotland and Wales. A diverse group of members of the public, this panel will contribute to shaping data-driven research and processes. We’ve also continued our commitment to collaborating as part of the Public Engagement in Data Research Initiative. I was delighted to see the draft best practice standards released this year, supporting meaningful public engagement across the data research sector.
As we continue to operate in an increasingly complex data landscape, these opportunities for collaboration grow. This year ADR UK responded to the Sudlow Review on Unifying Health Data in the UK. We also joined the Health Data Research UK Alliance – an independent coalition that reflects our approach to the ethical use of public sector data. I believe this engagement will support our efforts to increase the linkage of health and administrative data for secure, public good research use.
We’ve also expanded our efforts to share knowledge internationally, and a memorable highlight for me this year was a trip to Chile. I met with a consortium of Chilean researchers (who also attended the ADR UK conference in November to share their insights) and government officials to discuss the ADR UK approach to cross-government data linkage. Now, we’re getting ready to attend the International Population Data Linkage Network (IPDLN) conference in Chicago, where we’ll share insights with a global audience of researchers.
As we work towards securing our next investment period beyond March 2026, it’s a good time to reflect on the impact of our programme so far. Given the already considerable achievements of the ADR UK partnership – a selection of which are highlighted in this annual report – I have full confidence in our direction as we build the power of administrative data research to deliver public good.
Dr Emma Gordon
In memory: Professor Dermot O’Reilly
This year we sadly lost our wonderful friend and colleague, Professor Dermot O’Reilly. As Co-Director of ADR Northern Ireland, Dermot was instrumental in transforming the use of government data for research. His expertise and enduring passion for addressing issues of health and inequality will continue to inspire our future work. Read more about Dermot’s legacy.
Key developments across the partnership
In 2023-24, ADR UK has realised many ambitions as work has continued across the partnership to achieve our shared mission. From facilitating access to new datasets, to building research capability around them, we’re working to maximise the value of administrative data for public good research.
New and emerging datasets
There have been a number of developments for ADR UK datasets across the partnership, including newly-available datasets for research, emerging data that will soon be available, and new updates.
We're also improving the experience of researchers using administrative data. Find out how.
Public engagement
We define our public engagement as a purposeful set of activities designed to promote an ongoing dialogue with the public about administrative data research, driven by active listening and responding. This enables us to enrich understanding for everyone and maximise the impact of research, ensuring activities are meaningful and mutually beneficial.
ADR UK Ambassadors
ADR UK Ambassadors are people working in and around government and academia, who are committed to increasing and improving the use of administrative data research to inform policy and practice. They use their expertise, networks and influence across a range of topics to advocate for better and more routine use of data to solve pressing challenges.
The year ahead
ADR UK will continue progress towards meeting our objectives in the final years of our current funding period, which runs until 2026. We have commissioned an externally-delivered evaluation of the progress of the programme, to assess the impact and economic benefits of our work across the partnership. This will be completed in October, to inform our business case for future funding.
