International data access tools repository
A repository of useful tools supporting secure data access, created by a working group of the International Population Data Linkage Network (IPDLN) and hosted by ADR UK in support of the group's work.
This tools repository is the result of an IPDLN initiative to collect and provide access to tools which help to ease access to secure data from across the network. The scope of the repository is expected to grow over time, with more sections added as more tools are contributed.
This repository is a means of sharing good practice and efficient working. If you have a tool that would add value to this collection, please let us know. You can complete this form to submit information and we will be in touch.
You can search available tools under three categories:
Audience key: 🎓 = data researcher/user, 🏛️ = data owner/provider, 💷 = research funder, ➕ = other
Please note: This resource has been produced in good faith with recommendations from our working group and users. It is the responsibility of the individual contributors to the repository to check the credibility and functionality of the tool they deposit. No responsibility is taken by ADR UK (as host of the repository) or the IPDLN Collaborative Action Group for tools that are included.
Interactive data discovery tools
Including concept dictionaries, phenotype libraries, strategies for standardising application forms, mechanisms for providing tiered access to linked data, and managing metadata.
Metadata platform
Provider: Population Health Research Network, Australia
Target audience: 🎓
Description: Centralised platform to help researchers identify linkable datasets available across Australia. Also provides access to data item lists, data dictionaries, data quality reports, FAQs, peer-reviewed journal articles and publications associated with each of the data collections.
Restrictions: TBC
Creation date: 2023
Reviewed: Annually
Contact: phrn@uwa.edu.au
Youth Transitions Repository
Provider: FFT Education Datalab
Target audience: 🎓🏛️
Description: Provides background information and exemplar scripts for working with Longitudinal Education Outcomes (LEO) data in SQL. Server within the ONS Secure Research Service.
Restrictions: Restricted to LEO data provided via the ONS SRS.
Creation date: 2025
Reviewed: Other
Contact: dave.thomson@fft.org.uk
ADR UK Data Catalogue
Provider: ADR UK
Target audience: 🎓🏛️
Description: Contains all administrative datasets stored securely across the ADR UK partnership, including the Office for National Statistics, Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency, Scottish Government, and SAIL Databank. Datasets can be searched by theme.
Restrictions: Datasets included are restricted to those held by the TREs mentioned above.
Creation date: 2023
Reviewed: Annually
Contact: hub@adruk.org
Algorithms Inventory
Provider: Health Data Research Network Canada (HDRN Canada)
Target audience: 🎓🏛️
Description: Resource for Canadian multi-regional studies. It contains published algorithms for measures of population health, health service use and the determinants of health. All algorithms included have been validated or tested for feasibility in two or more Canadian provinces and territories or nationally. Additional scans of the literature are conducted regularly to identify new algorithms to be added to the inventory. Researchers can also submit algorithms for inclusion in the inventory.
Restrictions: The inventory reflects measures developed in Canada using Canadian data. Few Canadian multi-jurisdiction validation studies have been conducted and not all provinces/territories are equally represented.
Creation date: 2020
Reviewed: Other
Contact: datainventory@hdrn.ca
Covid-19 Data Inventory
Provider: Health Data Research Network Canada (HDRN Canada)
Target audience: 🎓🏛️
Description: Provides information about the availability of Covid-19-related data resources to support researchers interested in conducting multi-regional research in Canada related to Covid-19. It includes links to available data, as well as reports across the provincial and territorial data centres.
Restrictions: Specific to Covid-19 data.
Creation date: 2021
Reviewed: TBC
Contact: datainventory@hdrn.ca
Data Assets Inventory
Provider: Health Data Research Network Canada (HDRN Canada)
Target audience: 🎓🏛️💷➕
Description: Includes metadata and provenance (i.e. origin) information for population-based provincial/territorial and pan-Canadian data assets. The DAI does not hold the data, but rather includes descriptions for each data asset contained within it. The DAI is a tool for researchers and stakeholders to identify what kinds of data are held and where they are located.
Restrictions: None
Creation date: 2020
Reviewed: Other
Contact: datainventory@hdrn.ca
Signposting support
Organisations, groups and websites that direct users to training courses, videos and other sources of information or support.
Getting started with administrative data
Provider: ADR UK
Target audience: 🎓🏛️💷➕
Description: Support for new and potential users of administrative data to understand the basics. Includes videos, slide decks and information on the challenges and opportunities of using administrative data for research. Further signposts new users to courses and training providers.
Restrictions: None
Creation date: 2023
Reviewed: Annually
Contact: hub@adruk.org
Public Engagement in Data Research Initiative (PEDRI) Resource Hub
Provider: PEDRI
Target audience: 🎓
Description: Brings together key tools, guidance and information to support meaningful public involvement and engagement with data and statistics.
Restrictions: None
Creation date: 2024
Reviewed: Monthly
Contact: contact@pedri.org.uk
Good practice resources
Including frameworks, checklists, formats for guidance documents, principles for data/synthetic data creation processes, provision and access policies, and training materials.
ADR UK Public Engagement Strategy 2021-26
Provider: ADR UK
Target audience: 🎓🏛️💷
Description: Includes ADR UK public engagement principles, as well as methods for engagement, and is designed to support the delivery of meaningful public involvement and engagement in data research.
Restrictions: None
Creation date: 2021
Reviewed: Other
Contact: shayda.kashef@ukri.esrc.org
Research data management learning hub
Provider: UK Data Service
Target audience: 🎓🏛️💷
Description: Collection of guidance, best practice resources, checklists, and templates covering the full data lifecycle: planning, storing, anonymising, sharing, documenting data, rights and licensing, ethical issues, and data protection. It supports researchers, data administrators, and institutions to develop robust research data management practices. The hub’s materials are broadly applicable and can be adapted by other organisations or repositories.
Restrictions: None
Creation date: 2012
Reviewed: Annually
Contact: datasharing@ukdataservice.ac.uk
End User Licence Agreement (EULA)
Provider: UK Data Service
Target audience: 🎓🏛️💷➕
Description: The EULA is a mandatory agreement that sets out the conditions of use for researchers accessing safeguarded or controlled data collections via the UK Data Service. It clearly defines user responsibilities, permitted uses of the data, restrictions on sharing or disclosure, and the legal and ethical framework that underpins responsible data access. Can be adapted to other services as it is available under a CC BY NC SA licence.
Restrictions: TBC
Creation date: 2000
Reviewed: Annually
Contact: collections@ukdataservice.ac.uk
Minimal documentation standard for synthetic data collections
Provider: UK Data Service
Target audience: 🎓🏛️
Description: Ensures synthetic datasets are transparent, reproducible, and responsibly used. It sets out the minimum information that must accompany any synthetic data. By standardising documentation in this way, the framework helps users understand how synthetic data was created, what it can and cannot be used for, and ensures reproducibility and trust in data sharing.
Restrictions: Anyone can use these guidelines and adapt them as needed - the document is available under a CC BY NC SA licence.
Creation date: 2024
Reviewed: Annually
Contact: datasharing@ukdataservice.ac.uk
Research Data Handling & Security Guide
Provider: UK Data Service
Target audience: 🎓🏛️💷
Description: Comprehensive guide for users of safeguarded and controlled research data accessed via the UK Data Service. It sets out the legal, ethical, and practical requirements for licensing and access, secure storage and handling, statistical disclosure control, end-of-project data destruction, and organisational responsibilities. It is designed to help researchers, data administrators, and institutions understand and comply with obligations around data security, confidentiality, access frameworks, and the use of secure environments. It also outlines general considerations and best practices that can be adapted to other contexts.
Restrictions: Designed for UKDS, but can be adapted for other environments.
Creation date: 2012
Reviewed: Annually
Contact: collections@ukdataservice.ac.uk
Deposit Licence Agreement
Provider: UK Data Service
Target audience: 💷
Description: Formal licence between a depositor and the UK Data Service that sets out the terms under which a data collection can be deposited, stored, and accessed. It defines access conditions (Open, Safeguarded, and Controlled), the responsibilities of depositors and the service provider, and the legal framework for managing intellectual property, data protection, and security. It ensures clarity on licensing, citation, and the appropriate handling of sensitive or personal data. The agreement also outlines principles and best practices that can be adapted by other repositories.
Restrictions: Specific to UKDS but can be easily adapted, available under a CC BY NC SA licence.
Creation date: 1967
Reviewed: Annually
Contact: collections@ukdataservice.ac.uk
A Toolkit for Centering Racial Equity Throughout Data Integration
Provider: Actionable Intelligence for Social Policy (AISP), United States
Target audience: 🏛️🎓
Description: Updated toolkit which helps organisations and agencies seeking to acknowledge and mitigate for the harms and bias baked into data, data infrastructure, and government data practices. It contains more than 50 new examples of Work in Action from across the data lifecycle. It provides strategies for collecting and disaggregating Race, Ethnicity, Language, and Disability (RELD) and Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGIE) data; working with Tribal Data; using (and mitigating risk related to) Algorithms and Artificial Intelligence; and a Companion Workbook with activities to guide your journey to centering racial equity.
Restrictions: None
Creation date: 2025
Reviewed: Other
Contact: ialgrant@upenn.edu
Introduction to Data Sharing and Integration
Provider: Actionable Intelligence for Social Policy (AISP), United States
Target audience: 🏛️➕
Description: This resource is intended to help public sector data sharing partnerships and community initiatives build a foundation for sustained data sharing and use to improve lives. It now includes sections on finding your shared purpose, building your team, weighing risks and benefits, and getting started with the five quality components of Integrated Data Systems.
Restrictions: Designed to support people in the ethical use of public sector and administrative data, but is relevant to other types of data as well.
Creation date: 2025
Reviewed: Other
Contact: ialgrant@upenn.edu
Finding a Way Forward: How to Create a Strong Legal Framework for Data Integration
Provider: Actionable Intelligence for Social Policy (AISP), United States
Target audience: 🏛️➕
Description: Supports the essential and challenging work of exchanging, linking, and using data across government agencies using clear legal frameworks which are essential to mitigate risks, protect privacy, and guide responsible data use. This resource was created to frame out key considerations and provide effective practices for agencies working to “find a way forward” to share and integrate data.
Restrictions: Designed for sharing or integrating identifiable, row-level data, but can apply to broader projects as well. The first chapter should be supportive internationally, but the specifics in the later sections are US law-specific.
Creation date: 2025
Reviewed: Other
Contact: ialgrant@upenn.edu
Public Views on Synthetic Data: Key takeaways from the ‘Discussing Data’ Project
Provider: Cardiff University
Target audience: 🎓🏛️💷➕
Description: 12-page booklet summarising the Discussing Data project - a series of workshops with members of the UK to discuss low fidelity synthetic data. It includes key findings and 10 practical recommendations for data owners co-produced with members of the public.
Restrictions: None
Creation date: 2025
Reviewed: Never
Contact: luggfv@cardiff.ac.uk
Good Practice Standards for Public Engagement in Data for Research and Statistics
Provider: PEDRI (Public Engagement in Data Research Initiative)
Target audience: 🎓🏛️💷➕
Description: A set of seven Good Practice Standards developed by PEDRI to guide public engagement practices in the use of data for research and statistics.
Restrictions: None
Creation date: 2025
Reviewed: N/A
Contact: contact@pedri.org.uk
