Supporting research excellence
ADR UK has continued to support and facilitate groundbreaking research using linked data this year, with a focus on filling critical evidence gaps and informing better decisions. Through a mixture of research funding, training activities, and improving data infrastructure, we are ensuring that administrative data researchers have the tools they need to thrive and generate real impact.
Building researcher skills and capability
This year has seen ADR UK announce several major investments in data-driven research, which will build researchers’ skills and confidence as well as generating new evidence. A new cohort of 17 ADR UK Research Fellows begin their projects this autumn, using ADR England flagship datasets to answer policy relevant questions. We also opened a funding opportunity for Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Doctoral Training partnerships to apply to host PhD studentships using ADR UK flagship datasets – a programme which will support the next generation researchers to generate new insights from linked administrative data.
Also announced this year, two new ADR UK Academic Leads are supporting our key government partners to facilitate better linked administrative data and policy-relevant research. These new awards include an Academic Lead team focused on economic data, working with the Department for Work and Pensions and His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, and an Academic Lead focused on the Ministry of Justice Data First programme. They will maximise the public value of ADR UK flagship datasets supporting data owners to maintain and enhance them, strengthening researcher skills and building communities of use.
A growing programme of training, delivered through ADR UK's training and capacity building partnerships, has provided researchers with practical guidance on using ADR England flagship datasets. This has included dataset-specific training on resources such as Longitudinal Education Outcomes, National Pupil Database, and Education and Child Health Insights from Linked Data (ECHILD), alongside wider skills-based training through our new primary training provider Datacise Open Learning.
ADR England will continue to enhance England-specific resources, training and support available through the ADR UK Learning Hub, helping more researchers understand and use flagship datasets effectively. By investing in accessible training, improved services, researcher communities and opportunities for engagement, ADR England aims to create an environment where researchers are equipped to produce rigorous evidence that addresses important societal challenges for England and the UK.
The impact of this support has also been recognised through opportunities to showcase excellent research. Researchers using ADR England datasets have featured in initiatives such as the Office for National Statistics (ONS) Research Excellence Series, sharing innovative approaches and findings with wider research and policy audiences.
Meanwhile, ADR NI has supported a portfolio of affiliated projects funded through UKRI, ESRC, DARE UK, government departments, NISRA Business Data for Research, MQ Mental Health Research and HSC Research and Development Office, spanning topics including suicide and self-harm, mental health, maternal health, air pollution, earnings, unpaid caring, free school meals, Census 2021 and sensitive evidence tracking.
ADR NI strengthened support for researchers this year through the development of a new Training and Capacity Building strategy, designed to support the continued development of the team and wider administrative data research community in Northern Ireland. This included a new Introduction to R course, with plans to make this available across the ADR UK partnership. Meanwhile, the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA, part of ADR NI) began recording dataset-specific online information sessions. These will provide an enduring training resource for researchers. Within these sessions, NISRA have also introduced interactive Mentimeter questions to obtain feedback on future dataset updates.
Building researcher capability also remains a priority for ADR Scotland, in the delivery of training opportunities such as the Introduction to Administrative Data Research and Analysis (IADRA) course and the Data Quality Aspects of Administrative Data course. The Data Quality Course ran three times this year at locations across the UK. These programmes equip researchers with the skills and knowledge needed to work effectively with administrative data.
Over the past year, ADR Wales’ Datacise team has continued to deliver high-quality training and capacity-building opportunities to researchers from a broad range of disciplines, backgrounds and experience levels, helping to strengthen understanding of key datasets, analytical approaches and the principles that underpin effective use of administrative data.
Streamlining data access and applications
The ONS Secure Research Service (SRS) has continued to enhance the researcher experience through the ongoing development of the Project Application Service for SRS (PASS), launched in April 2025. This work has been informed by researcher feedback and operational insight, helping to make applications easier to complete and quicker to process. Improvements include clearer guidance, streamlined workflows, the removal of unnecessary questions and the introduction of a new form to support projects requiring external data. Automated processes and enhanced communication tools have also reduced administration time and improved the flow of applications between teams.
These improvements are already delivering measurable benefits. Researchers are submitting higher-quality applications, resulting in fewer queries and delays during review. Combined with more efficient internal processes, this has contributed to application processing times being nearly halved, helping researchers gain faster access to data and accelerating research for the public good.
Through NISRA, ADR NI have been piloting the new UK Statistics Authority Research Accreditation Panel application form, which is smoothing the researcher application process and reducing timelines. They are in discussions with MetaDataWorks and the ONS PASS team to progress new online application portals to further increase efficiency, and are currently developing an online final output clearing system.
This year, ADR Scotland has contributed to the Scottish Government's Data for Research: Change Management Board, helping to ensure that researcher requirements and user experience considerations are reflected in discussions around data access processes and service improvements
Improving metadata, documentation and discoverability
A key focus for ADR Scotland this year has been creating enhanced user guides and metadata documentation for flagship datasets. A cross-partnership Task and Finish Group ran a series of user-focused workshops to develop new data documentation, providing researchers with clearer information on data content, coverage, quality, linkage methods and limitations.
ADR Scotland has also worked closely with Research Data Scotland (RDS) to support the ongoing development of their metadata catalogue. By contributing expertise on metadata standards, dataset descriptions and Data Insights, ADR Scotland has helped improve data discoverability and transparency. RDS also migrated their existing metadata catalogue to the MetadataWorks platform to facilitate federation with key partner organisations.
ADR NI has produced new data resource profiles for SOSCARE (Social Services Client Administration and Retrieval Environment) and the Enhanced Prescribing Database, to improve visibility and accessibility of these assets. Across the partnership, the publication of Data Explained guides has provided practical insights into newly available datasets and helped researchers navigate their structure, strengths and limitations.
Within the ONS SRS, researchers now have access to the Economic Reference Library, providing a central source of commonly used, non-disclosive economic reference data. New training and guidance materials, including a PASS video hosted by ADR UK, have also helped researchers navigate the application process more confidently.
Fostering collaboration and community
ADR Wales research teams have prioritised capturing and sharing knowledge to benefit the wider research community. They have continued to champion open and reproducible research practices, with teams actively using platforms such as GitHub to share code, methods and documentation, promoting transparency, collaboration and scientific rigour. Beyond the academic community, ADR Wales colleagues within Welsh Government have continued to work closely with counterparts across the public sector to share expertise and best practice in the responsible use of data, data governance and ethical research delivery. Together, these activities reflect ADR Wales' commitment to building the collaborative culture needed to maximise the value of data for public good.
This year, ADR Scotland has plans to build peer-to-peer engagement and knowledge sharing including supporting Communities of Practice. These groups enable researchers to exchange learning, analytical approaches, code and best practice, fostering collaboration and reducing duplication of effort across the research community.
ADR NI’s Community of Practice was evaluated at its one-year mark this year, with member feedback used to shape improvements and ensure it continues to meet researcher needs. The NI Data Research User Forum also welcomed new members, providing a platform for users of administrative data in Northern Ireland to share experience, access support and navigate the data landscape. ADR NI also continued to provide advice and guidance to the wider research community, helping to expand administrative data research capacity across Northern Ireland.
