It is the grant holder’s responsibility to incorporate data management and sharing as an indivisible part of the research project, and to increase the potential for data to be shared as per ESRC’s research data policy.
This is in line with the UKRI mission and Statement of Expectation for Societal and Economic Impact, that those who receive Research Council funding are expected to take responsibility for the curation, management and exploitation of data for future use.
This includes research materials resulting from primary data collection or generation, or derived from existing sources intended to be analysed in the course of a research project.
Independent review of ESRC data policy
To ensure that our research data policy is still relevant and applicable we commissioned a data policy review by Professor Angela Daly and her team at the University of Dundee.
Read the full review report: Doing ESRC data better: a study for the Economic and Social Research Council
We are currently using the review to update our research data policy, which is planned to be published in spring 2025.
Further information
Administrative Data Taskforce: Improving access for research and policy
Data Protection Act 1998, Section 33
Data Protection Act 1998, Section 7
Wellcome Trust: Governance of data access – Expert Advisory Group on Data Access (PDF)
Freedom of Information Act 2000
Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002
JISC: Data protection and research data
NCRM: The ethics of secondary data analysis
Making a Freedom of Information request
Data Services: Guide for researchers
Relevant case studies
Data sharing and informants’ safety
Difficulties in depositing data
Last updated: 16 December 2024