Office for National Statistics Research Excellence Series 2026
Throughout 2026
1 January 2026
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) Research Excellence Series is a yearly programme of virtual talks showcasing exceptional projects using secure data. This year's series includes the winners from the ONS Research Excellence Awards 2025, which celebrated excellent and innovative analyses carried out using secure data.
Each session explores the journey of a unique research project – from inception and methodology to dissemination and real-world impact. The series features speakers from across the research community, offering a chance to hear directly from researchers about the data, the discoveries and the difference their work makes.
Read more about each event and sign up below.
Upcoming events
Supporting the ONS Longitudinal Study
Thursday 26 February, 10:30 to 11:30
This talk welcomes Professor Stephen Jivraj from the Centre for Longitudinal Study Information and User Support (CeLSIUS) Team, University College London and ONS. The CeLSIUS team were winners of last year's ONS Research Excellence Award - Secure Data Creation Award.
The ONS Longitudinal Study (ONS-LS) is a unique dataset that links census and life events data for individuals in England and Wales across six successive censuses, from 1971 through 2021. This talk will introduce the ONS-LS, explain how the CeLSIUS support service helps academic, voluntary, and public sector researchers access and use this resource, and showcase examples of research leveraging the newly linked 2021 data.
The short and medium-term effects of Sure Start on children's outcomes
Thursday 26 March, 10:30 to 11:30
We are pleased to welcome Dr Sarah Cattan from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS). The IFS team were winners of last year’s ONS Research Excellence Award - Impact of Analysis. Through the 2000s, Sure Start was one of England’s major early years policies, offering a ‘one-stop-shop’ for families with children under five. This research evaluates the short- and medium-term impacts of having access to a Sure Start centre on children's educational, health, criminal and social care outcomes throughout childhood. It uses a wide array of administrative datasets for England and conducts a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis of the policy.
Should we stay or should we go? Firms’ decision on services mode of supply
Thursday 30 April, 10:30 to 11:30
We are pleased to welcome Assistant Professor Martina Magli from Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU Munich). Martina and her team received a commendation at last year’s ONS Research Excellence Awards. This talk looks at how trade barriers affect the global trade in services. Because services can be delivered in several ways, firms often switch between direct exports, customer travel, overseas affiliates or moving staff when conditions change. Using new data on UK firms, the talk shows how businesses choose between these delivery modes. After Brexit, many UK firms began serving EU clients through local affiliates rather than exporting directly. This helped reduce the impact of new barriers but also led to lower employment in the UK.
Socio-emotional characteristics in early childhood and offending behaviour
Thursday 23 January, 10:30 to 11:30
Economist and ADR UK Research Fellow Dr Paul Garcia Hinojosa, from the Institute for Social and Economic Research at the University of Essex, examines how socio-emotional and cognitive difficulties identified in early childhood are associated with adolescent offending. He draws on de-identified, linked administrative data from the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and the Department for Education (DfE). His project aims to inform early interventions to help prevent youth crime.
