Public engagement
ADR UK is committed to putting public engagement at the centre of its work, as outlined in the ADR UK Public Engagement Strategy, 2021 - 2026.
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.
Our public engagement activities
Over the past year across the partnership, ADR UK has undertaken a number of different activities to include the public in our work.
Public panels
Public panels provide a platform for members of the public to offer valuable feedback about ADR UK’s projects and ambitions.
In May 2024, ADR England welcomed the Public Insights Panel, a diverse group of members of the public who contribute to shaping data-driven research and processes. The panel meets in the evening, every two months, and is available to anyone interested in engaging around the use of data for public good. They are managed by Basis Social, an independent social research agency, with support from the ADR UK Strategic Hub.
The Northern Ireland Public Data Panel began its recruitment process for the first panel cohort in June 2024. Working closely with partners in the Northern Ireland trusted research environment, the panel will induct members and begin meeting in autumn 2024.
The Scotland Talks Data panel, co-delivered by the Scottish Centre for Administrative Data Research (SCADR) and Research Data Scotland, has expanded in membership and increased involvement in researcher projects and changes across the sector. The latest cohort has engaged with a range of training and panel topics so far, with some members signing up to be further involved in individual projects as advisors. The panel explores a range of issues including administrative data research projects, data processes and developments, and communication. They look forward to creating the first impact summary of the panel early next year.
The SAIL (Secure Anonymised Information Linkage) Consumer Panel saw an increase in meetings this year, during which they engaged in discussions and gave feedback on ADR UK projects and datasets. These included presentations from ADR UK Research Fellows, covering their research around domestic abuse proceedings in family courts and young mothers’ experiences of the family justice system. The fellows received feedback on how to communicate their findings.
Engagement with the voluntary and community sector
Those within the voluntary and community sector are both consumers and drivers of administrative data research. Over the last year, engagement with the sector has allowed ADR UK to understand the research needs of specific communities and sectors of society.
ADR England has tested new ways of working with its community representative panels, which are made up of those who work with, or on the behalf of, specific groups of people. The Data First User Representation Panel has continued to facilitate engagement with representatives from organisations working with or for people with experience of the justice system. The ADR England Children & Young People Representative Panel provides opportunities for researchers using children and young people's data for England to engage with the community and other representatives. This spring, members from both panels supported a research fellowship opportunity. They took part in a webinar to support partnership working and public engagement between researchers and the voluntary and community sector.
The first cohort of ADR Northern Ireland’s Data Research Advisory Group – made up of care-experienced young people co-producing data-driven research with an Administrative Data Research Centre Northern Ireland (ADRC NI) research team – finished in May 2024. The group was incredibly enthusiastic and successful over the course of its two-year tenure, including winning a National Care Day Award in February 2024. This work was delivered in partnership with the charity Voice of Young People in Care.
This year, public engagement by the Administrative Data | Agricultural Research Collection (AD|ARC) team has expanded to include more direct engagement with farmers and people in rural communities. Over summer 2024, the team attended major agricultural shows. The researchers heard directly from the communities about their priorities, concerns, and perspectives on the project.
Sharing good practice for public engagement
ADR UK is committed to sharing and facilitating good practice in public engagement across the data research sector. As a founding member of the Public Engagement in Data Research Initiative (PEDRI), ADR UK has contributed to the publication of draft good practice standards for public involvement and engagement in data research and statistics. A final version of the standards is due to be published in autumn 2024. This year PEDRI also worked collaboratively on a public consultation to inform the development of these standards.
In June 2024, the second ADRC NI internship for a care-experienced young person commenced. The success of the first internship secured renewed funding from the Widening Participation Unit at Queen’s University Belfast. As well as helping to develop workshops for the next Data Research Advisory Group, the intern produced a ‘how to’ guide for data-driven researchers wanting to co-produce research with seldom heard groups.
ADR Scotland and Research Data Scotland shared lessons learned about the recruitment, training and co-ordination of the Scotland Talks Data panel in Scotland and beyond, and will present at the International Population Data Linkage Network (IPDLN) 2024 conference. These lessons learned have helped to inform the development of other similar data panels. Meanwhile, Welsh Government researchers engaged with the SAIL Consumer Panel this year to discuss data ethics. This was part of a project exploring issues such as transparency, public awareness and public attitudes towards big data research. The findings and analysis from these sessions and a literature review will be published this autumn. A feedback discussion session with the SAIL panel has been arranged later in 2024 to explore how the findings from this work can be taken forward.
Our vision for public engagement
ADR UK’s mission is to harness the potential of administrative data for research in the public interest. Administrative data is data generated from public interactions: we therefore have a duty to engage the public in how and why their data is used at every stage of our work, and to ensure our work demonstrates trustworthiness. Understanding the public’s needs, interests and concerns in relation to the use of their data, and shaping research to address these, is also essential for maximising the public benefit of administrative data research. Illustrated below are our five public engagement principles, which underpin the work we do.
Meaningful public engagement
Using appropriate methods to engage the public with a clear purpose at every stage of our work is crucial, as is evaluating and adapting our approaches to ensure they are effective.
Openness and transparency
Telling the public about our engagement and how we are implementing its findings is essential for demonstrating trustworthiness. Regular, open communication about our work, which is clear and accessible to diverse audiences, is key
A mutually beneficial relationship
We take a dialogue-based approach to listening and responding to public views regarding our work, while enabling our researchers to gain new insights and ideas to develop more impactful research.