Training and Capacity Building Strategy

In her blog, Emily Oliver, Head of Research & Capacity Building at ADR UK, discusses the goals of the Training and Capacity Building Strategy, which has been released today.

The Covid-19 pandemic has moved data to the forefront of research. More than ever before, it has been used to shape policy, influence behaviour and change practice. At ADR UK, our mission is to harness the potential of administrative data for research in the public interest. But administrative data can be complex.  And there’s a lot of it.  And it can be hard to know what’s in it, how to get hold of it, and what you can do with it.

ADR UK has taken up the challenge to help more researchers to understand the potential of administrative data, to help them to access it and train them to use it. Our new Training and Capacity Building Strategy, published today, sets out five routes to reach a plethora of learners including everyone from undergraduates to advanced career researchers and government advisors. 

With an investment of £2.3 million over the next four years, ADR UK plans to inspire a broad cohort of learners with:

• Information about how to discover and access linked administrative datasets, how to use them and who might fund this work.
• Clear signposting to existing learning opportunities, tools and resources to support research.
• Engagement across the social sciences through our networks of Centres for Doctoral Training and Doctoral Training Partnerships.
• New training opportunities that encourage more use of the rich linked administrative datasets already available for research use in the Office for National Statistics Secure Research Service.
• Support for ‘learning while doing’: on the job secondments and placements for researchers wanting to see the real-life impacts of using administrative data for research for public good.

To enact this strategy, ADR UK has set up a strong advisory group to steer our activities. Their championship of this work will help us to optimise the research use of the incredibly valuable assets that administrative data provide. The involvement of stakeholders from across the ADR UK partnership will help to ensure that the benefits of this work extend beyond the assets we invest in and the researchers we directly fund. Our goal is to develop a wide community of practice across institutions, sectors and disciplines.

Read the ADR UK Training and Capacity Building Strategy.