Placement opportunity with the Office for Statistics Regulation
Category: PhD studentships
13 October 2024
The Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) is providing a placement opportunity to improve the way OSR regulates official statistics across the UK statistical system, by creating greater accountability for government departments to comply with the intelligent transparency principles. The project seeks to develop a monitoring and reporting approach for intelligent transparency, which will be summarised in a report. Applications for the opportunity will close on 31 October.
This opportunity is open to Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)-funded students, including ADR UK’s funded PhD cohort. Applicants must ensure that the stipend and fee costs can be accessed through their Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP), and the studentship must be extended by the duration of the placement. Complete an ESRC Placement Funding Permission Form as part of your application package, signed off by your supervisor and DTP.
Duration: 3 months (can be completed full-time or part-time)
Format: This placement will be completed remotely. OSR may on occasion suggest team-wide events or meetings that the student may want to attend in person. If the student chooses to attend, OSR will cover travel and subsistence.
IT requirements: The student will not have access to the host organisation's IT systems. However, the assigned activities can be completed without this access. The student will need to have access to a computer/laptop and be able to access Microsoft Teams to join calls.
Details on how to apply can be found within the OSR Placement Opportunity. The most suitable candidate will be invited for a virtual, informal chat before they are engaged.
For any questions, contact regulation@statistics.gov.uk, marking your email for Nicky Pearce.
About the role
This placement offers an opportunity to improve the way OSR regulates official statistics across the UK statistical system, by creating greater accountability for government departments to comply with the intelligent transparency principles. To inform this project, the student would be required to carry out a literature review of existing monitoring and reporting frameworks used across government, as well as interviews with heads of analysis in government departments to understand what approaches are taken to adhering to intelligent transparency and to identify incentives for voluntary reporting. The successful student will develop a monitoring and reporting approach, summarised in a report.
Key dates to note
Closing date for applications: 31 October 2024
Preferred starting date: OSR can be flexible on start dates but would like the project to be completed by March 2025.
About the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR)
The Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) is the independent regulatory arm of the UK Statistics Authority, which is a non-ministerial government department. OSR provides independent regulation of all official statistics produced in the UK. As regulators, it is our role to support public confidence in statistics and their use by government, by addressing harms and making sure that statistics serve the public good. Part of the OSR’s role is to promote and safeguard the use of statistics in public debate. We use our independent voice to stand up for statistics and to represent the public, reporting publicly where we have concerns and highlighting good practice.
