ADR UK to direct International Population Data Linkage Network in 2021-2022

It has been announced today (13 October 2020) that ADR UK (Administrative Data Research UK) will take over the Directorship of the International Population Data Linkage Network (IPDLN) for 2021-22. The Network will be Co-Directed by Dr Emma Gordon, Director of the ADR UK Strategic Hub, and Professor Chris Dibben, Co-Director of ADR Scotland.

ADR UK is a partnership transforming the way researchers access the UK’s wealth of public sector data, to enable better informed policy decisions that improve people’s lives. As such, it is well positioned to lead and build on the progress of the IPDLN in 2021-22.

The IPDLN facilitates international communication between centres specialising in data linkage and the use of linked data for public benefit. It has around 1,100 members in 55 countries, drawn from academia, government and industry.

Directing this Network will connect ADR UK to a mutually beneficial international community of best practice, and position the partnership at the forefront of global efforts to harness the power of linked population data.

Over the 2021-22 period, the new IPDLN Co-Directors will maintain and expand the Network’s membership, promote and support the International Journal of Population Data Science, and run the next IPDLN Conference in September 2022.

IPDLN’s current Director, Dr Merran Smith, Chief Executive of the Population Health Research Network (PHRN), said: “On behalf of the IPDLN Executive Committee, I am very pleased to announce Dr Emma Gordon and Professor Chris Dibben from ADR UK as the Network’s Co-Directors for 2021-22. The close alignment of ADR UK’s mission with that of the IPDLN, as well as their experience developing their own UK partnership between government and academia, makes them an excellent fit for the role and I wish them every success as the incoming Co-Directors.

“I am very grateful to Australia’s national data linkage infrastructure, the PHRN, which is funded by the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy, for its support of my Directorship over the past two years. I also thank the IPDLN Executive Committee, PHRN Program Office staff and the many others who have provided support and helped to ensure a successful IPDLN 2020 Conference in what has been a somewhat challenging pandemic year.”

Dr Emma Gordon, Director of the ADR UK Strategic Hub and incoming Co-Director of IPDLN, said: “I am hugely excited for ADR UK to be taking forward leadership of the IPDLN for 2021-22, and the opportunities this provides.

“Since ADR UK’s inception in 2018, we have made great strides in developing partnerships between government and academia across our four nations, transforming data linkage and research access to inform policy and practice. However, exciting developments are also being made in many other countries, and taking on the IPDLN will plug us directly into the pre-eminent international community of best practice in this field, opening up countless opportunities for shared learning.”

Professor Chris Dibben, Co-Director of ADR Scotland and incoming Co-Director of IPDLN, said: “Many thanks to Dr Merran Smith for her Directorship of the IPDLN for 2019-20. I very much look forward to becoming a Co-Director, and continuing to develop partnerships with centres across the globe, from industry, academia or government that use data for public benefit. I am confident that membership of the network will continue to increase, as more researchers discover the value in data linkage, resulting in all centres benefiting from learning best practice from each other.”