As experts in running face-to-face data dives, the UK Data Service
worked with national data providers to host a digital two-day COVID-19 data dive to explore the social and economic impact of the pandemic with COVID-19 data available through the UK Data Service. Over 60 experts joined the online event as part of the rapid research response to the pandemic.
The event was initiated by the Welfare at a (Social) Distance project, part funded through UK Research and Innovation’s rapid response to COVID-19 as a collaboration between University of Kent, University of Leeds, London School of Economics and University of Salford. Jointly
organised with other leading longitudinal research centres, also funded
by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) through the Economic and Social
Research Council (ESRC): Understanding Society and UCL Centre for Longitudinal Studies (CLS).
By bringing together major social,
economic and population studies in a single place, we provided an
opportunity for researchers, policy and charity experts to collaborate
and draw out early critical questions about the impacts of the pandemic.
Participants worked in small teams and used a range of online collaboration tools including digital ‘post-it’ note based whiteboards to identify and develop themes during the first day, then explored the data to produce a presentation at the end of day two. These included:
- Mental
health (factors affecting mental health, impact of COVID-19 on
loneliness, changes in antenatal services and mental health impacts,
using the Understanding Society COVID-19 survey) - Physical health
(alternative causes of excess deaths in COVID-19 epidemic, using
the Understanding Society COVID-19 survey and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and
Control) - Youth transition (changes in work pattern and perceived personal well-being using the Understanding Society COVID-19 survey)
- Self-employment (impact on the heath of those self-employed using the Understanding Society COVID-19 survey)
- Inequality (experiences of people on low income by ethnicity, gender and parents, using Welfare at a (Social) Distance and the Quarterly Labour Force Survey)
- Politics (business turnover and impacts, using Welfare at a (Social) Distance Project)
In
the spirit of virtual events, virtual trophies were awarded for best
use of COVID-19 data, visualisations and most promising application to
the real world.
Look out for posts on the Data Impact blog discussing the themes from the dive, coming soon.
Highlights of the day can be seen on Twitter #UKDSCovidDataDive.
We look forward to future collaborations and data dives.