UK DATA SERVICE-CENSUS SUPPORT SERVICE (UKDS-CSS)

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A 'Census Programme' has been funded by the ESRC for the last decade that has enabled 'data support units' to create, maintain and develop data delivery systems that allow users in the academic community in the UK to have online access to, and expert advice about, data products from the 1971, 1981, 1991 and 2001 Censuses.The proposal here is for a step change in the support that users can expect by creating a Census Support Service (CSS) that is part of a new integrated UK Data Service (UKDS) that provides users with access to and information about the large variety of social science data resources that are available through a one-stop-shop interface. The software delivery systems that have been developed by the existing data support units will form the backbone of the UKDS-CSS and offer a variety of value added services, e.g. sophisticated search routines, extraction of customised data subsets, statistical analysis and modelling tools, complemented with the expertise of a group of individuals with extensive experience in managing complex data sets and undertaking research projects and teaching initiatives. This proposal comes on the eve of the publication of the results of the 2011 Census, a source of data that is going to become hugely important for research purposes in the event of the discontinuation of the census in its traditional form. The 2011 Census represents what may become the last comprehensive and reliable count of the population involving a wide set of socio-economic individual and household attributes for small geographical areas. Ensuring that the academic community has immediate and easy access to these data through UKDS-CSS delivery structures is a top priority. Initial efforts will be directed towards the processes of 2011 Census data acquisition from the census offices, data preparation for ingest and preservation in the CSS databases and data verification. The proposal envisages a phased transition from the current framework of service provision to one allowing users to access, extract and analyse census and related data via an integrated UKDS interface. To achieve this, close collaboration is required between the new UKDS-CSS units and the UKDS-Core to ensure interoperability of the technical delivery infrastructure, an efficient framework of support for customer enquiries and comprehensive monitoring of service usage and performance.Our intention is to transfer all the databases and delivery software to UKDS and to develop the UKDS-CSS with consistent UKDS 'look and feel' across the services. This work will need to be done in parallel with the provision of existing services. Collaboration is envisaged to eliminate data and metadata duplication and derive the optimal arrangement/location of databases and software as well as staffing. Once the UKDS-CSS services are integrated within the UKDS, we will progress the development of 'integrated data access', an innovation that will allow a user to construct one query that will invoke data and metadata searching and extraction from more than one census database.The UKDS-CSS will support and advise the UKDS-Core in order to secure new data sets from national statistical agencies for research, particularly in the context of 'Beyond 2011' where a number of administrative sources will be used to produce population headcounts and attribute information associated with individuals or households. Working in collaboration with the census offices, the UKDS-CSS will extend its services to cater for new data sets that are of value for research and teaching.As an integral part of the UKDS, the UKDS-CSS will seek to actively promote open access and open data agendas and, where licensing agreements permit, to extend online access of census and related data sets to overseas and non-academic users.