ADR Northern Ireland
ADR NI brings together Queen’s University Belfast, Ulster University, and the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA).
Administrative Data Research Northern Ireland (ADR NI) is a partnership between the Administrative Data Research Centre - Northern Ireland (ADRC NI) and the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA). The partnership is supported by the Health and Social Care Research and Development (HSCR&D) Unit.
The partners
ADRC NI is a collaboration between research specialists from Queen's University Belfast's Centre for Public Health & School of Management and Ulster University's Bamford Centre for Mental Health. ADRC NI brings extensive knowledge and experience in developing innovative research for public benefit, analysing complex data sets and independent public engagement.
They partner with NISRA, who are experts in statistics and research with a proven track record in curating, linking, and managing large-scale data sets. They employ world-class technological and methodological innovation to facilitate researchers access to data sets, ultimately transforming research and informing policymaking.
The main focus of the ADR NI partnership is to provide quality evidence for policymakers by acquiring and conducting research in safe settings using public data. The researchers, from both academia and the government, are working on important issues in Northern Ireland society, such as the well-being of children in care, access to mental health and social care services, educational achievements, and the needs of an ageing population.
The Strategy
ADR NI’s Strategy 2022 – 2026 focuses on delivering high quality and impactful evidence that supports policy and practice in Northern Ireland, and more widely, across the UK.
How is it funded?
ADR NI is funded directly by the Economic & Social Research Council (ESRC) with a dedicated portion of the total investment in ADR UK, currently until March 2026. To find out more about how ADR UK is funded, see About Us. Further details of the grants awarded to NISRA and Queen's University Belfast can be seen on UK Research & Innovation (UKRI)’s Gateway to Research platform.
ADR Northern Ireland Projects
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Trends in food poverty and linkages to health in Northern Ireland
17 February 2023
This project aims to produce a food poverty risk index for Northern Ireland which will answer a range of questions on food poverty in the region.
Read more
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The relationship between social exclusion and educational attainment
28 April 2020
This project is the first of its kind to use large-scale longitudinal data to explore the relationship between social exclusion and educational attainment for pupils in England.
Read more
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Infant health and mothers’ exposure to air pollution
28 April 2020
This project investigates whether different levels of exposure to air pollution during pregnancy can affect a baby's birth weight.
Read more
ADR NI News
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Amplifying the voice of care experienced young people in data research: Reflections on a pilot internship scheme
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Education Outcomes Linkage 2018/19 is now available via ADR Northern Ireland
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An analysis of Covid-19 deaths and equality in Northern Ireland
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Celebrating public engagement: Highlights from ADR Northern Ireland
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Report recommends establishing Northern Ireland’s first public panel on data use
Publications
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Data Insight: The association between unpaid caring and employment and earnings in Northern Ireland
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Data Insight: Using the Earnings and Employees Study 2011 to estimate Catholic-Protestant wage differentials
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Data Insight: Beta testing of the Northern Ireland Annual Business Inquiry and Broad Economy Sales and Exports Statistics datasets, with a focus on spatial and sectoral analysis of Northern Ireland trade from 2014 to 2020
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The mental health of all children in contact with social services: Young person's version of a research paper
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Data Insight: Mind the gap: an administrative data analysis of dental treatment outcomes and severe mental illness
ADR NI Flagship Datasets
Information on flagship datasets currently available for research through ADR NI can be found below.
ADR NI Partners



Get in touch
You can contact ADRC NI by emai, ni@adruk.org. You can keep up to date with their latest news via Twitter and read more about the centre on the Queen’s University and Ulster University websites.
You can contact NISRA by emailing rsu@nisra.gov.uk or calling +44(0) 28 90 388488. You can keep up to date with their latest news via Twitter or their website.