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How to access : What you need from your organisation

Assured Organisational Connectivity (AOC) is an agreement between an organisation and the Integrated Data Service (IDS). It allows researchers to access the IDS from their organisational or remote office space.

An AOC agreement must be in place before you can access IDS.

AOC accreditation requires your organisation to:

  • evidence the controls and processes under which their researchers will access the platform
  • accept responsibility for that access

In return, accredited researchers from your organisation can access the platform quickly with minimal additional administration.

It acts like a "passport" scheme for researchers in the area of Safe Settings.

How to become AOC accredited

You can start your AOC application straight away, you do not need to have a live project on the IDS.

If your organisation already has an existing Secure Research Service (SRS) AOC agreement, this can be converted into an IDS accreditation.

Email srs.connectivity@ons.gov.uk (opens in a new tab)  to:

  • find out if your organisation has an AOC agreement
  • request an application pack
  • ask a question or get further advice

Application overview

Your application pack contains three forms, two mandatory and one optional. The mandatory forms are:

  • the overarching Assured Organisational Connectivity Organisational Agreement (AOCOA) to be signed by someone with organisational authority, such as a vice principal or board director
  • Assured Organisational Connectivity Compliance Client (AOCCC), to provide evidence of your organisation’s security and governance controls

To access the IDS remotely (from home), the optional form is required:

  • Assured Remote Access Connectivity Compliance Client (ARACC), to provide evidence of your organisation’s remote access controls

The time taken to complete accreditation is dependent on the involvement of your organisational stakeholders.

Accreditation requires the input and signatures from an organisational sponsor, senior members of the IT and security team and the active involvement of a senior operational owner. This is usually best coordinated by a central research manager or similar.

You can email the IDS Customer Support team for more information at IDS.customer.support@ons.gov.uk (opens in a new tab)