Public engagement research for the SPF UK Population Laboratory.

This project forms part of a series of projects ultimately designed to provide UK social and economic researchers with improved access to and knowledge about the population of the UK. Currently, surveys of the population (both 'one-off' and repeated surveys) require the development of a 'population sampling frame' - a list of all people or households eligible to be surveyed. This list is then sampled in various ways, and sampled members or households are recruited via interviews. This approach is inefficient and can give rise to significant and unknown biases due to the ways in which the list is constructed, sampled and the extent of participation in the survey. A better approach is to have an up-to-date list of the population of the UK, with some relevant information about each person and/or household (e.g. age, sex, name, address, etc.) on the list. Surveys would then be undertaken by sampling from the list (termed an 'administrative data spine'). The characteristics of those who choose to participate in a survey can then be compared with those who do not participate, allowing for adjustments to be made for known biases.

The 'administrative data spine' can be constructed from various sources of information about the UK population held by government departments, the UK Statistical Authority and the NHS. Key to its construction will be the extent to which the public and data controllers trust the research community to develop such a list. At present we have little knowledge about the degree of trust that exists within the population with respect to this development. The project will provide such information, enabling the ESRC to formulate a strategic plan for engagement with the public and with data controllers as the work establish an administrative data spine progresses.

The project is designed in four stages. The first stage will review existing and planned activities that have addressed issues relating to the research use of large volumes of personal data. In the second stage this information will be fed into an Advisory Group formed to assist with the project. The third stage will consist of five dialogue groups, convened in different countries of the UK to explore public perceptions of data sharing and data linking for research purposes. The final stage will be a national survey to provide estimates of the extent to which the public accepts or rejects plans for the construction of an administrative data spine.

The information generated via this project will inform the development of a strategic plan for public engagement on the development of an administrative data spine.

Following specific guidance from the ESRC, this section has intentionally been left blank.