Access to and long-term preservation of UK research data have been secured with a £17 million investment for the UK Data Service.
Starting on 1 October, the UK's collections of social science and economic research data will be available through a new organization called the UK Data Service. The money is granted by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and shall cover the UK Data Service budget for the next five years. The new service has a broad scope and is structured to support researchers, business, organisations and all levels of government. The organisation will, among others, include the UK Data Archive and the Economic and Social Data Service (ESDS). UK Data Service will be led by researchers from four British universities of Essex, Manchester, Southampton and Leeds.
Included in UK Data Service's mandate is to convey and store research data to meet the needs of users both inside and outside academia. Among the most important tasks are to be a digital repository; to provide access to research data in economics and social sciences; to provide controlled access to sensitive and/or disclosive data through secure settings and to develop and promote common standards for data preparation, documentation and preservation.
– The UK Data Service will become a cornerstone for UK research; the place to go for high quality data and support, says ESRC’s Chief Executive Paul Boyle in a comment on ESDS’ website.