Data sharing: new day or false dawn?

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Sharing existing data sets can improve the delivery of services to citizens, as well as the robustness and rigour of statistics, helping people, organisations and government to make more informed decisions.  

There is untapped potential in recent government initiatives, opening up new opportunities for private sector researchers to access a wealth of useful statistical data in a responsible and ethical manner.  

Digital economy bill

The provisions in the Digital Economy Bill, which was introduced in parliament in July 2016, include a wide range of measures, but – importantly for researchers – offer a new approach to data sharing. This is intended to help with de-identified data, to support accredited researchers to access and link data in secure facilities to carry out research for public benefit.  

The bill proposes that a code of practice be developed to set out how to de-identify data so it may be shared without identifying individuals. This code will contain guidance on processes for collecting, storing and supplying information to the Statistics Authority, and will set out conditions that researchers will have to meet to gain access to data. The Statistics Authority will accredit individuals who are allowed to process personal data. 

As the bill goes through the legislative process, it is likely to be shaped further and will be an important area to monitor to see how it can be used to improve research outcomes. 

Accessing Statistical data as an approved researcher

Under the revised Approved Researcher framework, commercial researchers now have greater access to unpublished statistical data produced by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The ONS has allowed private sector access through the scheme, subject to specified safeguards. The approval process is largely similar for all researchers, requiring the submission of a single application in order to be accredited for a fixed period of five years. Specific criteria include at least three years’ quantitative research experience and completion of prescribed training. 

As is to be expected, the scheme is underpinned by transparency of participation and publication of results. Researchers must agree to be included on the list of accredited research projects published on the ONS website, and to publish results of all research projects completed through the scheme. 

Some additional restrictions are placed on accredited researchers from the private sector. These include approval of research proposals by the National Statistician’s Data Ethics Advisory Committee and a requirement that research results be published before commercial use can be made of them, such as through development of a value-added product. 

A key hurdle for qualified researchers in the commercial sector to make use of the scheme is likely to be the need to ensure that the research project meets the ‘public good’. As the ONS Approved Researcher scheme develops, it will be interesting to see whether it delivers for commercial researchers and the type of projects that meet the criteria. 

Public benefit in commercial research?

A key concept underlying the Approved Researcher scheme and the data sharing proposed in the Digital Economy Bill is public benefit, which acts as a gatekeeper concept in allowing access to the data by researchers. 

However, there is a danger that policy-makers will construe public benefit too narrowly and exclude the work of private sector researchers. Public-private partnerships, increasingly important in the delivery of services, must be factored into the development of the data-sharing approaches. 

Principles defining public benefit or public good need to include efficiency improvement, and the development of new and innovative goods and services that serve public needs/demands: 

• Market research plays a key role in helping business to better understand consumers, and to develop appropriate goods and services that are essential for economic efficiency, innovation and progress within the UK economy.
• Social and opinion research, also carried out by researchers in the private sector, is used widely by government and public bodies to understand citizens’ preferences and behaviours, measure impact, and develop appropriate policies used, for example, in improving educational, healthcare and police services.

Clearly, public perceptions and concerns about private sector commercial users making profits from secure public data – or a lack of trust in commercial use of data – need to be taken into account properly. But data sharing, with appropriate ethical and legal safeguards, should allow all researchers to make more effective use of existing data sets. 

Approaches in this area need to be tailored to reflect these concerns without creating an uneven playing field between private companies and academic institutions. The data-sharing debates will continue, but it may be time to explain the public benefits of the wide range of projects undertaken, and the adherence to ethical standards and best practice that are the bedrock of the sector.