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How to access : Apply for a project

Overview

To access secure research data in the Integrated Data Service (IDS), you must be part of an approved research project.  

To apply for a project, you and your research team must have already: 

  • applied for and received your IDS account
  • completed your researcher accreditation

Before you start

The person completing the project application will become the lead analyst and our main point of contact during the application process. This can only be changed once the project is created.  

As part of a new application, we will ask you to provide detailed information about the research project, such as the: 

Your organisation may need to make internal changes to establish and meet the compliance of remote connectivity (such as Assured Organisational Connectivity and Cloudflare). You can start this application straight away, you do not need to have a live project on the IDS.

How long it takes

The application form is divided into five detailed main sections (with sub-sections) to enable you to provide a detailed description of your planned work. You will need a good understanding of your research and what you are trying to achieve. 

We do not expect you to be able to complete it in one go, so you can save and return if you need to. 

The amount of time between submitting your application and accessing the data may vary, depending on: 

  • the complexity of the research proposal
  • the strength of the ethical considerations in the proposal
  • how quickly you can respond to queries from the IDS support team
  • data owners approving the use of their data
  • availability of the data you have requested
  • whether your project needs to be accredited by the UK Statistics Authority 

Provide as much detail as you can to help us review and progress your application as quickly as possible. 

Currently, we estimate that: 

  • we aim to be in touch with any initial queries within two to 10 working days
  • the IDS internal review and data owner approval process of the formal project accreditation application may take two to 10 weeks
  • the UK Statistics Authority accreditation decision stage takes two to nine working days; The Authority or the Research Accreditation Panel (RAP) may raise queries and responding to them adds to this turnaround time

Application process

Step 1: Submit your application in the IDS Hub

Our support team will review your proposal, considering feasibility, ethics and the potential for public good, we may ask for additional information or amendments   

If the data you want to use is not already included in our data catalogue, our technical team will assess and enquire about getting the data for you; this may cause significant delays to your application

Step 2: Check data owner approval

Our support team will check for and, if necessary, seek approval from the data owner for the data you have requested 

We may ask for additional information or amendments

Step 3: We may submit your application to the UK Statistics Authority

If your project needs to be accredited, our support team will submit your application to be checked by the Authority’s Data Ethics team 

You will receive an accreditation decision from the Authority and/or the Research Accreditation Panel (RAP), who may ask for additional information or amendments 

Your details will also be published in the UK Statistics Authority Public Register (opens in a new tab) 

Step 4: Sign in to the IDS Hub

Once your project is approved, you can access the data and start working on your project in the IDS Hub

Step 5: Request changes to your project

Once your project is live you can request changes to your project (such as team changes, dataset changes, and change of scope) by emailing IDS.Customer.Support@ons.gov.uk (opens in a new tab) 

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