Two funding opportunities: ADR UK Academic Lead for Better Economic Data and ADR UK Academic Lead for the Ministry of Justice Data First programme
Categories: Funding opportunities, ADR UK Partnership, Crime & justice, Employment & the economy
30 March 2026
ADR UK is inviting applications for Academic Leads to support our key government partners to facilitate and deliver better linked administrative data and policy relevant research from 2026 – 2031.
ADR UK Academic Leads will play a central role in maximising the public value of ADR UK flagship datasets, working in active collaboration with the government departments that own this data. They will support data owners to maintain, enhance and promote their flagship datasets, with a focus on driving research for public good, increasing available data for research, and maintaining public trust.
Two funding opportunities are open, for Academic Leads focused on:
- Better Economic Data, working with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC). This is an opportunity for a team.
- The Data First programme, working with the Ministry of Justice (MoJ). This award can be held by one project lead, or one project lead and one project co-lead.
Key areas of focus for both Academic Leads will include:
- strengthening researcher capability to use flagship datasets for public good research
- representing researchers in the continuous improvement of flagship datasets and the wider researcher journey
- building and sustaining an active, engaged community of researchers using the data
- expanding policy relevant and impactful use of flagship datasets.
See Annex 2 of the full opportunity for a complete description of the expected role of ADR UK Academic Leads.
Both opportunities are open to organisations with standard eligibility. Applications for both opportunities close at 16:00 on 21 May 2026.
Academic Lead: Better Economic Data – Department for Work and Pensions and HM Revenue & Customs
We are looking for a team to provide academic leadership for ADR UK and our key government partners, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and His Majesty’s Revenue & Customs (HMRC) who are working to deliver better economic data.
The successful team will support three key work packages:
- RAPID: Scaling up the research use of the RAPID: Population interactions with employment, benefits and pensions – UK dataset. This will include providing training and support for researchers, advising data owners on potential improvements, and building a sustained community of practice.
- LEED: Advising DWP, HMRC and the Office for National Statistics on plans for the construction and scalable research use of a new Linked Employee-Employer Dataset (LEED) for the UK and providing training and support for researchers when data is accessible.
- Public engagement: Supporting DWP, HMRC and ADR UK with the development and running of a public representative panel to inform the research use and future development of both RAPID and LEED.
The full economic cost of your project can be up to £2,000,000. The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) will fund 80% of this cost.
Projects must start by 5 October 2026, and the award will conclude on 31 March 2031.
What we're looking for
Applicants should provide evidence of their understanding and expertise to carry out each of the three work packages, including a detailed work plan. Applications should explain how the team will provide academic leadership to:
- build a strong RAPID research community, strengthen researcher capability, expand impactful use of the data, and represent researchers in RAPID’s continuous improvement
- inform the development of the new LEED dataset, and support its research use and future improvement
- plan and deliver recruitment of and ongoing, two-way engagement with the public representative panel for RAPID and LEED development to ensure use of flagship datasets for public good research.
For the full expectations and requirements for your application, visit the UKRI funding finder.
Academic Lead(s): Data First – Ministry of Justice
We are looking for an Academic Lead(s) to work with the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) on the ADR UK-funded Data First programme, to facilitate and deliver new and innovative research across the justice system.
The successful applicant(s) will be an integral part of the MoJ Data First team, ensuring that the Data First programme meets academic user needs and maximises the impact of research for the public good. They will champion the programme across the academic community while supporting MoJ to realise the full value of its linked justice datasets. These include:
- Data First: Cross-Justice System - England and Wales
- Data First: Family Court linked to Cafcass and Census 2021 - England and Wales
- Ministry of Justice & Department for Education linked dataset - England.
By bridging the gap between government and academia, the Academic Lead will ensure that:
- datasets are used to their research potential
- academic researchers are supported through their end-to-end journey from early scoping through to dissemination
- the Data First programme remains responsive to emerging research questions, methods and user needs
- research activity is aligned with justice priorities, cross-government interests and the MoJ Areas of Research Interest.
The full economic cost of your project can be up to £500,000. The ESRC will fund 80% of this cost.
Projects must start by 5 October 2026, and the award will conclude on 31 March 2031.
What we're looking for
Applications should set out how the Academic Lead(s) will act as a bridge between government and academia.
They will combine strong academic expertise in quantitative, interdisciplinary or administrative data research with an applied understanding of justice data and policy contexts. They should also have experience of working within, or alongside, trusted research environments.
Applicants should explain how they will provide academic leadership to:
- strengthen researcher capability to use flagship datasets for public good research
- represent researchers in the continuous improvement of Data First datasets and the wider researcher journey
- build and sustain an active, engaged community of researchers using the datasets
- expand policy relevant and impactful use of the datasets.
For the full expectations and requirements for your application, visit the UKRI funding finder.
These new Academic Leads will complement existing ADR UK academic leadership supporting the Department for Education (DfE), the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) and NHS England particularly around the use of Longitudinal Education Outcomes (LEO) - England dataset and Education and Child Health Insights from Linked Data (ECHILD) dataset.
