Public data for resilience and inclusion: views from the ADR UK conference

Focusing on the theme of public data for resilience and inclusion, the conference brought together data professionals from across the UK to explore and discuss how administrative data can be used to inform policy and practice in challenging times.

We spoke to three Research Data Scotland (RDS) colleagues about their experience of the conference and how the themes resonate with our mission to unlock the power of public sector data. 

What was your main take away from the event and how does this relate to your role at RDS? 

Sophie McCall, Senior Data Analyst, observed that interest in synthetic data at the conference was high. Created to follow the trends of secure datasets – but without revealing any sensitive or identifiable information – synthetic datasets can allow researchers to test approaches and write code that analyses data while awaiting the necessary permissions to use actual data.

“At the last minute, I stepped in to deliver a presentation detailing Research Data Scotland’s strategy for synthetic data, which generated a lot of interest,” said Sophie McCall. “It was great to make contact with a number or researchers who have been working to develop synthetic data, and to understand their needs going forward. 

“Synthetic data could be a great opportunity for supporting researchers whilst they are waiting for access to secure data, and this is the approach RDS should take in developing its future synthetic data strategy.” 

Public engagement 

Engaging the public in our work is vital to RDS and to the wider data landscape, particularly when considering private sector access to public sector data. Cicely Kerr, Partnerships Manager, said: “I attended several sessions focused on public engagement and it was great to hear about different approaches and experiences, including from a public panel member. 

“One sociotechnical view from Ed Humpherson, head of the Office for Statistics Regulation in his keynote is the purpose of public engagement to test, explore and define the soft edges of our social licence for research access to administrative data.

“This is interesting to consider for engagement around our private sector data access policy work that I’m helping to drive here at RDS, supporting delivery of Scottish Government’s Unlocking the Value of Public Sector Data for Public Benefit Programme. Also, the importance for public trust that benefits are socialised and shared rather than held private, which may underly some instinctive public distrust of commercial use of data – public good not private good.” 

Generating insights 

For David Jack, Data Sourcing Manager, the conference was an opportunity to explore how public sector data is being used to generate insights across the UK. David said: “The event gave me a much better sense of the sheer volume of high-quality research for public good going on across the UK. This included research projects in Scotland that I didn’t previously know much about.

"It was great to meet so many passionate researchers and this really underlined how much my role as Data Sourcing Manager can contribute to their great work. Access to de-identified administrative data is the lifeblood for what they do and the ability to link administrative data safely and securely is providing a more accurate and comprehensive picture of UK society than ever before.” 

What are you most looking forward to about working on the ADR Scotland programme of work?

Sophie McCall: “My role in RDS is primarily associated with the curation of data sets to make them ‘research ready’. As part of this, I was struck by the interest that researchers had in metadata and their desire for better quality metadata. I am now looking to how RDS can support this by developing improved metadata content and working to make this accessible to researchers.”

Cicely Kerr: “The research and policy use-cases that will come from expanding the range of Scotland’s data that’s available for research, enabling richer and deeper insights from linked health and wider administrative data. Following this event, I’m also really looking forward to engaging with and contributing to the ADR UK community.”

David Jack: “Working on the ADR Scotland programme will provide even more learning opportunities and I look forward to working collaboratively with the other delivery bodies. It will be great to work closely with ADR Scotland colleagues on understanding their data sourcing priorities and planning how RDS analysts can support these endeavours.” 

Was there a particular speaker or part of the event that stood out to you? Why?

Sophie McCall: “I enjoyed the presentation ‘Splink: Latest developments and applications’. Splink is a python package which is widely used for indexing of data through probabilistic matching. It is a complicated process of which I had limited knowledge but is part of the process required for preparation of research-ready datasets, and I was keen to learn more. The presenter had some excellent visuals and did a fantastic job of demystifying a really difficult subject.” 

What did you find most interesting from a personal perspective? 

Cicely Kerr: “Personally, I really enjoyed the strong presence of RDS and many of our partners at the ADR UK conference. This was my first ADR UK conference and it was lovely to see many familiar faces already and feel part of an extended family. Also, great to get to know more organisations and people in the UK data landscape.” 

David Jack: “I think the importance of taking a four nations approach was probably the message I’ve been reflecting on most post conference. This touches everything from data collection to data governance and the infrastructure which supports cross domain research. 

“My thoughts on this started to accumulate very early in the week when I attended a fantastic pre-conference workshop which considered adult social care linked data research. It was great to have so many voices from different parts of the UK in the one room.  

“This was an opportunity to not only discuss common challenges but also share potential solutions and consider the opportunities in identifying a UK four nations approach. The workshop concluded with many people keen to highlight its value and suggest that we should be looking to do more of this type of UK collaboration on a routine basis.”