📣 Help Shape the Future of UKRI's Gateway to Research (GtR)

We're improving UKRI's Gateway to Research and are seeking your input! If you would be interested in being interviewed about the improvements we're making and to have your say about how we can make GtR more user-friendly, impactful, and effective for the Research and Innovation community, please email gateway@ukri.org.

Geographic Data Service

Lead Research Organisation: UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON
Department Name: Geography

Abstract

Context: Building on the established foundations of the Consumer Data Research Centre at UCL and the Universities of Liverpool and Oxford (CDRC-ULO) under SDRUK Phase 1, the Integrated Smart Data Research Service (ISDRS) will draw on a decade of success in acquiring and managing Consumer and Smart Data. ISDRS will benefit from the rich inheritance of CDRC-ULO's data, expertise and large user base to radically enhance the provision of robust, integrated and trusted Smart Data for social science research, and beyond.

Challenge: ISDRS will establish the provenance of Smart Data for research, drawing on CDRC-ULO experience and data assets. Accessing these data will necessitate securing sector-wide data licensing agreements for the entire academic sector, which depend on long term investment in building contacts and developing trust. Data assets will be rendered into usable forms through integration and delivered using FAIR access principles.

Aims and Objectives: ISDRS will deliver a unique value proposition:

Data Representativeness: Further extend CDRC-ULO expertise to establish Smart Data provenance using ISDRS or other statistical/administrative data assets.
Multiple Data Acquisitions: Secure and licence multiple Smart Data sources, especially in Web/App and Image data, supporting "Productivity and Prosperity for All" and enabling academic sector-wide access.
Scalable Research-Ready Data: Develop Smart Data-derivative research ready data (RRD) with national coverage for a large user base.
Continuity of Services: Deliver RRD and specialist Smart Data services from the inception of SDRUK Phase 2.
Capacity Building: Use Smart RRD to drive researcher skills and foster collaboration.
Applications and Benefits: We will transform Smart Data access and uptake across social science, using a proven three-tier data service. This will:

Boost Research Quality and Data Accessibility: ISDRS will ensure availability of the best data to support the best research, fostering innovation and generalisable societal and economic impact.
Sustain Smart Data-Driven Innovation: ISDRS services will be available immediately for innovative research and will act as a conduit to societal benefits through knowledge co-production with industry and a focus on policy impacts.
Capacity Building and Collaboration: Targeted training and collaborative initiatives will enhance researcher skills and integrate capacity-building programmes to empower Smart Data-led research.
Enthusiasm for ISDRS is shown by our host universities generous match-funding, and the many private and public sector partner organisations, which have collectively offered support.

Core Team: This integrates experience with innovation. Co-Leads Paul Longley and Alex Singleton are established social scientists who have delivered effective data partnerships and services for 10+ years. Both have longstanding collaborations with James Cheshire, Mark Green and Jonathan Reynolds who will lead, respectively, on trusted research environment infrastructure, responsible use of data, and cross- domain capacity building. Exciting new innovation-led research and governance themes is brought by Alessia Calafiore, Michele Harricharan, and Zi Ye, who will lead on capacity building, responsible data handling, and analytical issues spanning Smart, Consumer and Statistical Data. Professional enabling staff Maurizio Gibin, Oliver O'Brien and Rebecca Trumble have collectively dedicated 18 person-years to CDRC-ULO and named on the ISDRS application, along with ECRs Cillian Berragan and Robert Podmore.

Organisations

Publications

10 25 50