This recognition places our work at the forefront of the UK’s data transformation journey. As a multi-disciplinary research group, we bring together researchers and practitioners from academia, think-tanks, industry and government. Our mission is to improve how researchers work with sensitive data by developing cutting-edge tools and best practices for Trusted Research Environments – the secure digital spaces where crucial research affecting public policy takes place.
“We’re honoured that DRAGoN has been nominated for an ONS Research Excellence Award and shortlisted for the People’s Choice category,” says Elizabeth Green, Senior Lecturer in Economics. “These prestigious awards celebrate innovative research that creates public value through statistical excellence. Our nomination highlights the crucial work we do.”
The ONS Research Excellence Awards celebrate projects that push boundaries in statistical analysis and create lasting public benefit. Being shortlisted alongside fourteen other outstanding initiatives confirms our position as a leader in data research innovation.
Your Support Matters We would be grateful for your support through your vote in the People’s Choice category. Voting closes at midnight on Sunday 24 November. Every vote helps showcase our commitment to advancing secure and effective data research.
In support of contributing to an evidence base to aid the Labour Government’s key mission to promote regional economic growth and the creation of good jobs, a research team from the University of the West of England has analysed data created as part of the Wage and Employment Dynamics (WED) project to explore the unique characteristics of the West of England’s local labour market.
Background
This work was completed in support of the launch of the Futures West Foundation, which aims to establish evidence-based research and insights to tackle the West of England’s long-term challenges to raise productivity, prosperity and innovation. The report begins by providing a national context before focussing on the regional labour market of the Western Gateway Area (WGA) – the WGA includes Bath and North East Somerset, Bristol, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Gloucestershire, Swindon, and Wiltshire.
By utilising microdata from theAnnual Population Survey (APS) and the enriched Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), researchers explored labour markets and wage trends by focussing on five key sectors: Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering, Finance and Insurance Services, Creative Industries, Digital Industries, and Environmental Goods and Services.
What we found – national perspective
The article reports the persistence of regional wage disparities with wages remaining highest in London and the South East, while the North East has the lowest average pay. Wage growth, however, was fairly consistent across all regions between the period of observation (2004-2022). The report also notes that during this time, the minimum wage has increased at a faster rate than the median wage, suggesting that lower-paid workers are gaining a larger share of overall earnings. This trend is helping to reduce wage inequality which is demonstrated by the fact that the percentage of workers earning below two-thirds of the national median wage dropping significantly since 2014.
What we found – regional perspective
The data revealed that workers in the WGA earned a wage which was approximately 4% higher than the national average (excluding Greater London), but this reduced to just over 2% after taking other characteristics into consideration. The report estimates that the priority sectors contributed around 7% of this pay premium.
The analysis revealed that this pay advantage is unevenly distributed across the region. The average wage in the West of England was about 11% higher than in Gloucestershire, while higher wages in West of England are primarily driven by jobs in the City of Bristol and South Gloucestershire. The analysis also revealed that employees in Wiltshire (excluding Swindon) earned less than the national comparator group.
At the sector level, the analysis showed that wages in each of the five identified priority sectors are significantly higher compared to other sectors – e.g. those working in the Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering and Digital industries sector earn approximately 6% and 12% more than the national average. This advantage is further heightened for those working in the Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering sector in the WGA, who earn around 1.6% more on average than their counterparts in the same sector across the country. Despite employees working in the Digital industries recording above average wages, this advantage is somewhat offset for those working in the WGA. The analysis revealed that Digital industries sector workers in the WGA earned around 3.1% less than the national average for the same sector. This discrepancy is likely to be due to the specific sub-sector composition in the region, but warrants further exploration.
This research highlights the value of using microdata, such as that provided by the WED project. Th use of microdata can enable researchers to provide deeper insights, allowing for effective and targeted policymaking. The findings of this report suggests that priority sectors identified by Futures West are important for boosting living standards and productivity across the WGA. This work therefore provides support for targeted sector approaches.
Damian Whittard is an Associate Professor in Economics and Programme Manager of the Wage and Employment Dynamics Project, where he leads a research programme creating a comprehensive labour market data spine for the UK. As an Academic Assessor for the Government Economic Service and Research Fellow funded by ADR UK, he specializes in economic measurement, labour markets, and green jobs research. His work has been presented at prestigious institutions including the International Monetary Fund and the Bank of England, and his research has influenced policy through projects with organizations such as the Open Data Institute and the Low Pay Commission. Drawing from his previous experience at the Office for National Statistics and the South West Regional Development Agency, Damian brings extensive expertise in national accounts, regional economics, and evidence-based policy making to his academic role.
In data governance, the question of principles- versus rules-based regulation is a knotty one: should best practice and operating standards be specified in regulation (rules-based), or should regulation provide the overall guidelines against which specific solutions can be measured (principles based). The former is compliance-focused and offers (notional) certainty, while the latter is outcome-focused and offers flexibility and adaptability to circumstances.
Both models come into and go out of fashion. As research data governance was evolving as a topic at the end of the 20th century, rules-based regulation was more in favour. However this century has seen a move to principles-based regulation, as in the UK Digital Economy Act 2017 and the Australian Data Access and Transparency Act 2022. European regulation provides a good example of this evolution: while the 1995 Data Protection Directive seeks to identify what is and is not anonymous data and what needs to done to it, the 2016 General Data Protection Regulation acknowledges a grey scale of data classifications, highlights the importance of technical measures and operational procedures in providing protection for data, and allows for much more flexibility in confidential data management.
There is a similar debate in regulation of financial markets. UK and US financial regulation is more likely to follow a principles-based approach, whereas European regulation is more rules-based. One would hope that a useful outcome of financial crises, such as those experienced by East Asian markets in the 1990s or the Western ‘global financial crisis’ of 2008 would be evidence for which is more effective, but apparently not…
Broader corporate governance also struggles with this issue. How do you ensure board-level integrity and ethics, without overly constraining business operations or creating perverse incentives? In 2018 The Risk Coalition (https://www.riskcoalition.org.uk/) was set up, a ‘network of not-for-profit professional bodies and membership organisations committed to raising the standards of risk management in the UK’. The Risk Coalition has been strongly advocating a principles-based approach to risk management and in 2019 it first published its guidelines Raising the Bar.
After an 18-month consultation, they have now produced a new draft, Raising Your Game. This is currently out for consultation but in its draft form it holds a lot of useful lessons for data governance. The core message is ‘good ethics leads to lower risk’, but it also has a strong emphasis on the need for decision-makers to have the training and information to use these principles effectively. These are ideas which we at DRAGoN have been keen to promote as well, and many of the principles in the document can be directly related to good data governance.
One area where there is a difference between corporate governance and (public sector) data governance is the perception of risk as something to be managed or avoided. The Risk Coalition is all about risk management; that is, the normal activities of a business will involve risk and uncertainty, and the function of the guidelines is to prevent those risks becoming excessive. In contrast, public sector research data governance is, as we have written many times before, predominantly default closed and concerned with risk avoidance. Hence, for data governance the key principles also need to include “be clear about your goals and the value to society” and “always evaluate options as ‘how will I achieve my goals most effectively?’ and not ‘can I achieve my goal?’”.
Responding to the consultation
The Risk Coalition invites stakeholders from all sectors to participate in the public consultation process.
The consultation closes on Monday, 16th September 2024, and stakeholders are encouraged to submit their responses and feedback via the provided this Google Form link or by emailing their consultation feedback to: team@riskcoalition.org.uk
In the last webinar of the season Abdinasir Kowdan and Orla Dunn will be presenting a talk on “How can councils enhance their utilisation of data for research, evaluation, and decision-making?” This engaging webinar promises to delve into the crucial role of data in informing decision-making processes within local councils.
Their research aims to explore strategies and best practices that can empower councils to leverage data more effectively, fostering evidence-based decision-making, robust evaluation, and impactful research initiatives. With their expertise and insights, this talk will undoubtedly shed light on the transformative potential of data-driven governance.
Whether you’re a researcher, a council member, or simply someone passionate about data-driven policymaking, this event is an excellent opportunity to broaden your understanding and gain valuable insights from this work.
Sign up now and get involved with the conversation.
We’re excited to announce our upcoming session, “Data Governance and Religion”, led by the Juan Carlos. Join us on April 24th at 6:00 PM for what promises to be a thought-provoking discussion on the intersection of data governance and religious perspectives.
Seminar Details:
Date and Time: April 24, 2024, at 6:00 PM
Location: The seminar will be hosted on Microsoft Teams. Joining instructions will be provided upon registration.
Registration: As always, our seminars are free and open to all who are interested. Secure your spot by registering at this link.
ADR UK is transforming the way researchers access the UK’s wealth of public sector data. By joining up the abundance of administrative data already being created by government and public bodies across the UK, and making it available to approved researchers in a safe and secure way, they are enabling vital research. These datasets are already supporting the production of world leading academic studies, while leading to better informed policy decisions and more effective public services in areas from improving education and healthcare to tackling crime.
ADR UK flagship datasets are of significant research value and will have wide appeal to researchers and policy makers and analysts. ADR UK have funded and made available a number of new large-scale dataset which are currently underutilised in research. The datasets cover the following themes:
Children & Young People
Climate & Sustainability
Crime & Justice
Health & Wellbeing
Housing & Communities
Inequality & Social Inclusion
World of Work
Several of the ADR UK funded ‘World of Work’ datasets have been created in Bristol by UWE’s Wage and Employment Dynamics team – see www.wagedynamics.com. As such, the UWE research team will be at hand to talk about their experience and provide tailored guidance and support for anyone interested in using these, or any other ADR UK funded datasets in their research.
If you would like to find out more about the datasets; how to access them; what funding is available to support research using these datasets; and network with like-minded peers, then you should sign up to this workshop.
Workshop aims
The aims of the workshop are to bring academics and policy makers together to raise awareness of the ADR UK datasets; inform academic and government researchers about how they can get access these datasets; identify what funding schemes are available to support research using these datasets; and give delegates the chance to connect with others and jointly explore research ideas that can be addressed using the new ADR UK datasets.
Through a combination of presentations and facilitated discussions, the objective is to stimulate ideas for research, and encourage and support individuals and research collaborators to bid for funding to further their research agenda and improve the evidence base needed for better policy.
Who is behind the workshop?
The workshop is a collaboration between the University of the West of England, ADR UK and the Office for National Statistics, with support from research funders and academics who have previously been funded to produce pathfinder research using at least one of the ADR UK datasets.
Who should attend
We expect the workshop to be attended by researchers (in academia, government, or the third or private sectors) and ‘policy makers’ (including national and regional government analysts in policy areas). Specifically, this workshop should be of interest to
Researchers who have (or would like to develop) an interest in empirical microdata research, which uses unit level observations (e.g. individual, enterprise etc.).
Researchers looking to explore new research areas.
Policy makers with specific questions not currently (or obviously) addressed by existing research.
Policy makers wishing to explore the potential for research collaborations in their areas of research interest.
We strongly encourage participation by early-career researchers and PhD students.
Activities
The workshop will take the form of presentations and Q&As in the morning session, followed by more detailed case studies and interactive workshops in the afternoon. The workshops will be facilitated by thematic experts with experience of the datasets.
University of West of England, Frenchay Campus, Bristol Business School (X-Block)
Date
21st May 2024
Arrival
10.00 – 10.30: Registration and Morning Refreshments
Morning Session
10.30 – 10.40: Opening Remarks Professor Yvonne Beach: Pro-Vice Chancellor and Head of the College of Business and Law, UWE 10.40 – 11.10: ADR UK Flagship Datasets Emily Oliver and Elizabeth Pattinson: Research and Capacity Building, ADR UK 11.10 – 11.30: Accessing and working with microdata Alice McTiernan, Phil Yule and Liam Jones Office for National Statistics 11.30 – 11.45: Research Funding for ADR UK Datasets Alex Beer: Head of Grants Operations and Portfolio Development, Nuffield Foundation 11.45 – 12.00: Panel Q&A
Lunch
12.00 – 12.40
Afternoon Session (1)
Research Case Studies using ADR UK flagship datasets 12.40 – 13.00: The Value of Green Jobs – Damian Whittard: Associate Professor, UWE 13.00 – 13.20: Family Justice – Dr Ludivine Garside: Senior Research Associate, University of Bristol 13.20 – 13.40: Teacher Predicted vs. Achieved Grades for University Admission – Professor George Leckie: University of Bristol 13.40 – 14.00: Low Pay and Labour Mobility – Professor Felix Ritchie, UWE 14.00 – 14.15: Panel Q&A
Coffee break
14:15 – 14:30
Afternoon Session (2)
14:30 -15:30 Workshop Session: Bringing academics and policy analysts together to explore ideas for research using the ADR UK flagship datasets
There is no fee for attending. Registration is required to allow planning for catering, registering with security and in case of over-subscription. The event will be limited to a maximum of 50 participants. Delegates will receive confirmation of their place at least seven days in advance of the event. If oversubscribed, delegates who were unable to attend will be sent a summary report and invited to any future events.
The Spring 2024 DRAGoN Webinar Series continues to ignite curiosity and spark discussions with our upcoming session, “Thinking of data as an economic good: what it can (not) teach us about data governance.” Join us on April 9 at an earlier than usual time of 5pm for an insightful exploration by Nadya Purtova from Utrecht University and UWE’s Damien Whittard.
Speakers: Nadya Purtova (Utrecht University) and Damien Whittard
Seminar Focus: Discuss a unique perspective on data governance by viewing data through the lens of economics. Discover how considering data as an economic good can inform strategies for effective data management practices, and where it can also limit us.
Registration: Our webinars are free and open to any who are interested. To receive joining information, please register at this link.
Don’t miss out on our up and coming webinars that dive deep into crucial topics like – Data protection during war, governance of confidential research data, and effecting change in healthcare settings.
Be sure to sign up now to reserve your spot! Learn from and engage with subject matter experts on issues that impact us all, expand your knowledge and gain new perspectives and sign up to join in the webinars today. This blog post gives details and sign up links for each webinar.
The webinar schedule is as follows, and you can find out more about each webinar below.
Research and policy development on the governance of confidential research data is dominated by the work of academics and government agencies based in high-income countries (HICs). This leaves three quarters of the world’s population faced with a corpus of theory and good practiced guidelines which, although robust and well-established, makes little or no reference to the specific circumstances of low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). It may be that the data governance models developed in LMICS may be easily transferable to other contexts (there is some evidence, for example, that human-centred training adapts well), but in general there is little or no examination of this issue. There is however a large demand; a recent announcement of a training course in data governance for LMICS was 10x over-subscribed within the first two weeks of launch.
Following from this gap, DRAGoN has started a project on the governance of confidential data for research use in LMICs. DRAGoN hosted a symposium on data governance in LMICs aimed at building a network for discussion of solutions of data governance challenges in LMICs. The output of this symposium was presented at a UNECE conference in late September.
Additionally, this project includes a PhD thesis by Pedro Ferrer Breda, which consists of a case study of Mexico’s INEGI (national institute of statistics and geography) and INSP (national institute of public healthcare) to understand data access decisions in Mexico, supported by Natalia Eugenia Volkow Fernandez, INEGI’s director of microdata access.
This talk will describe this project’s current progress and explain future plans for the development of support networks for good governance of data for research use in LMICs.
Part of the team: Effecting change and sharing power in healthcare settings
In this talk, Dr Jessie Stanier and Dr Purtell discuss a recent paper from a project which explored perspectives from patients and researchers to rethink how patient stories were shared with executives at an NHS hospital trust. With a goal to develop a new narrative framework to help patients position themselves as part of the healthcare team, emphasizing shared roles and responsibilities between patients and practitioners.
Their talk will cover the outcomes of this collaborative project, including key support structures and obstacles. They will reflect on the significance of collective voice, accessibility, administrative support, and senior staff buy-in when working to truly integrate patient perspectives in healthcare systems, especially considering austerity measures and the COVID-19 pandemic and look at how their findings can influence relationships beyond those in the NHS.
DRAGoN Host a weeklong international workshop, reviewing the current gap between Data Governance in high income countries (HICs) and low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). This workshop will run with two parallel cohorts to accommodate both Eastern and western hemispheres.
What Gap?
When it comes to research and policy development on the governance of confidential research data, high-income countries (HICs) have taken centre stage. However, this has left a significant knowledge gap for low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where three-quarters of the global population resides. The existing guidelines and practices, although robust, fail to address the unique circumstances and challenges faced by LMICs. To address this disparity, DRAGoN is organizing a workshop working directly with people in these countries addressing and exploring these issues. This article gives an overview into what the workshop aims to achieve and why it matters to anyone involved in data research.
The workshop seeks to delve into the current state of research data governance in LMICs and uncover the challenges these countries face. Unlike their HIC counterparts, LMICs operate within distinct institutional, legal, historical, and cultural contexts, necessitating tailored data governance models.
The lack of evidence regarding the effectiveness of transferring HIC data governance models to LMICs further emphasizes the need for comprehensive understanding. Additionally, certain data governance issues specific to LMICs have yet to be addressed
The lack of evidence regarding the effectiveness of transferring HIC data governance models to LMICs further emphasizes the need for comprehensive understanding. Additionally, certain data governance issues specific to LMICs have yet to be addressed. By identifying the gaps in knowledge and evidence, the workshop aims to pave the way for data governance practices that are more inclusive and effective.
Exploring Good Practices & Opportunities for Supporting Good Data Governance:
Despite the existing disparities, the workshop will also explore examples of good practice that could be applied more widely in LMICs. These success stories will provide inspiration and practical insights for data researchers, regulators, academics, governments, and NGOs involved in making confidential data available for research use. By sharing these experiences, the workshop aims to encourage the adoption of effective data governance practices across LMICs.
One of the main goals of the workshop is to identify opportunities for supporting good data governance in LMICs. By bringing together stakeholders from different regions, the event aims to foster collaboration and the exchange of ideas. Over the course of a week small-group discussions will take place virtually, accommodating participants from both the Eastern and Western Hemispheres. These discussions will help generate valuable insights and recommendations for addressing the challenges and improving data governance practices.
To gather additional evidence and insights, a short survey will be distributed to participants and others involved in data research. The survey aims to capture current practices and perceptions regarding research data governance in LMICs. The information collected can then contribute to a comprehensive summary report, outlining the current landscape, trends, disparities, and highlighting any potential ways forward. This report will serve as a snapshot of the current landscape and a foundation for future exploration by academics and policymakers, stimulating further research and policy development in this vital area.
Bottom line; Why is this workshop so important?
The governance of confidential research data is a critical aspect of ensuring ethical and effective data research practices worldwide. By acknowledging the unique circumstances of LMICs and addressing the challenges they face, we can foster more inclusive and sustainable data governance models. The workshop organized by DRAGoN is an important step toward bridging the gap between HIC-dominated research and the specific needs of LMICs. It provides an opportunity for stakeholders to come together, exchange knowledge, and collectively work towards advancing data governance practices. By participating in this workshop, you can contribute to shaping the future of research data governance in LMICs and make a meaningful impact in the field of data research.
To register for the workshop or for further information, please visit the event page for more information or contact the workshop planning group at dragon@uwe.ac.uk. We look forward to your participation!
