2022 SRS Year in Review
2022 was another busy year for the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and Secure Research Service (SRS) teams.
- Over 900 researchers have been accredited
- Over 250 new projects have started in the SRS
- 20 new datasets have been made available for all accredited researchers
Assured Organisational Connectivity (AOC) has seen a 25% increase, now with 172 agreements in place. These are spread over 110 different organisations, 70% of which are academic institutions.
We were also proud to release the SRS Metadata Catalogue, in collaboration with our partners, to enhance the accessibility of our numerous and diverse data for use by the research community.
ASHE Synthetic data pilot
The Office for National statistics (ONS) are inviting prospective ASHE users to participate in a synthetic data pilot study aiming to assess the usefulness of synthetic data.
User feedback received through this pilot will help the ONS to maximise benefits of data access and further explore the feasibility of synthesising more data in future.
Key questions
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What Data will be used? Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2020 data
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How will you access the data? Through the UK Data Service
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What can you contribute to the pilot study? Testing of format, content, variables, benefits (e.g. code writing, time), governance, utility etc.
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When will the pilot start? Mid-February 2023 - lasting for a period of 4 weeks
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What will you need to take part? You will need to be an accredited researcher. To do this please submit an online application via the Research Accreditation Service (RAS)
If you are interested in taking part in the ASHE synthetic data pilot or have any queries please email adrcuration@ons.gov.uk
SRS Christmas Hours
Limited service over the holidays
Last month we advised that we will be operating with reduced support for the Secure Research Service (SRS) from 4pm Thursday 22 December. Our full support service will reopen at 8am Tuesday 3 January. Please be aware that there will be no phone cover during this period
Our customer support email service will have limited cover during this period, and other customer-facing teams will only be operating with a skeleton staff. This means we cannot guarantee that outputs will be cleared within our usual service levels and anything submitted in the Research Accreditation Service (RAS) will not be actioned by our team until full service resumes in January.
Should you have any questions regarding the holiday closure, please contact SRS Customer Support.
Over the past few months we have shared with you feedback from our 2022 Annual User Experience Survey. The survey unearthed several questions about how processes in the SRS work, and why they work in the way that they do. The SRS Explained Series aims to give some context behind the inner workings of the SRS, describe our processes and procedures in detail, and highlight to users how they can utilise the SRS in the most efficient way to continue their important research.
Project Applications
The SRS Project Applications team make sure your project meets the accreditation requirements of the Digital Economy Act 2017 (DEA). This is the legislation we use to give you access to data as quickly as possible, so we must check that your application meets all of the criteria to ensure it is legal. When project applications are submitted to the Research Accreditation Service (RAS), there are numerous stages undertaken by the SRS Project Applications team to ensure the project is safe, legal, ethical, and will result in public good. During each stage of the process, guidance from the UK Statistics Authority (UKSA) is used to ensure each project is checked fairly and robustly.
We always try to progress your application as soon as you submit it to us. Applications don’t take us very long to review if the UKSA guidance has been followed, you are clear and detailed in your application, and return your application to us following queries in good time. Make sure you list ALL datasets you think you will want to access throughout your project. This includes your own data you want to bring into the SRS, so we can present data owners with the full picture of your project. This will ensure we process your requests in the most efficient way possible and reduce delays later down the line.
The UKSA guidance contains information about how you should complete each question and provides an example application that outlines the level of detail we need to see to easily accredit your project. The guidance in RAS is also there to help with what information we need.
We are sometimes delayed if we need to contact data owners for approval for you to access their data, or if the nature of your application requires approval by the independent Research Accreditation Panel.
Researchers wanting to make a request for a linked dataset should contact by email at adrcuration@ons.gov.uk to discuss their requirements before submitting a project application in RAS.
We are a friendly team who are always eager to get you access to data as quickly as possible, so if you have any questions about your project application please contact SRS.project.applications@ons.gov.uk.
The diagram below shows how project applications progress.
Project submitted to Research Accreditation Service (RAS).
 First checks:
- Standard checks undertaken for word counts, missing sections/attachments, project team.
- Ethics forms are sent to the Centre for Applied Data Ethics team for review.
- Your application may be sent back to you on RAS for amendments to be made.
 Feasibility checks:
- This can include the feasibility of using the data requested, data linkage etc to ensure the public benefit will be realised.
- Public good is particularly important and is emphasised at this stage to meet the legal requirement of the DEA.
- This may be queried one or more times on RAS until the DEA requirements are met.
Data owner approvals:
- Data owners of SRS data are approached to ensure they are content for their data to be accessed in the way requested.
- Approvals that are delegated to us speed this up (but this is not always the case for all datasets).
 Sent to UKSA:
- Applications can be accredited using the Project Accreditation Tool, or by the Research Accreditation Panel if further discussion is required (for example, if your use of the data is novel).
- There may be further changes made to the project application before final accreditation.
Project accredited and ready to be set up in the SRS:
- You will be required to sign an Accredited Researcher Assurance Registration (ARAR) to agree to Terms of Use of the SRS.
- You will receive your SRS log in details.
- You can start your research!
Funding opportunity: Research using ADR England flagship datasets
ADR UK is inviting applications for Research Fellowships to conduct research and analysis demonstrating the policy impact potential of key ADR England flagship datasets. Applications close 24 January 2023.
Applicants must use key ADR England flagship data for their fellowship. For this round, ADR UK are prioritising funding for applications using Longitudinal Education Outcomes (LEO), Growing Up in England (GUIE) & Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) - 2011 Census.
To find out more, please visit the ADR UK website.
Introducing the Public Engagement in Data Research Initiative: Putting the public at the centre of data research
We are delighted to announce ADR UK's membership as a co-founding organisation of the newly-launched Public Engagement in Data Research Initiative (PEDRI), which will bring organisations together to drive forward best practice in public involvement and engagement.
For more information, please visit the ADR UK website.
Dataset of the Month
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities (DLUHC) Statutory Homelessness Flows England dataset shows the number of households in England who were owed an initial homelessness duty in April 2019 to March 2020. The data is collected via the Homelessness Case Level Information Collection (H-CLIC) which is published quarterly by local authorities.
The dataset includes information on the household’s circumstances and demographics, including:
- reasons for homelessness
- ethnicity of the main applicant
- household type
- support needs
The dataset also records their outcomes at each stage of the statutory homelessness system, including type of accommodation secured. Only cases where an outcome has been reported have been included in this data.
This dataset provides a unique opportunity to provide a better understanding of incidence, impact and outcomes of homelessness among different groups in England and contribute to evidence on the role of different factors in contributing to differences observed. This is the first time such an annual cohort of households in the statutory homelessness system has been made available in this way.
If you would like to learn more about the Statutory Homelessness Flows dataset, please contact: homelessnessstats@levellingup.gov.uk. To access this dataset within the ONS SRS, please contact the SRS Customer Support team: srs.customer.support@ons.gov.uk
Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, released 28 June 2022, ONS SRS Metadata Catalogue, Statutory Homelessness Flows - England.10.57906/pffh-wv97
Case Study of the Month
Breadth of the 16-19 curriculum and employment outcomes
This report was commissioned by The Royal Society to investigate the relationship between young people’s breadth of study at ages 16-19 and their subsequent employment outcomes. The research found that young people who study a variety of subjects at ages 16-19 go on to earn £2,500 more in their mid-twenties than those with qualifications from only one subject group. However, the research shows that only one in 100 students now takes qualifications from four or more subject groups, down from almost one in 10 in 2010.
To find out more, please visit the ADR UK website.
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