#IdentityInData: Who Counts? Visibility, voice and culture in data collection and use

Representation and inclusivity are central to how populations, communities and individuals are described in data. Definitions of self and identity in data evolve.

The UK Data Service brings together some of the most robust and complex quantitative and qualitative survey data produced by research institutions, governments and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in the UK and internationally.

The producers of these data support the ways in which data remain robust in their representation. They also inform and guide such processes.

Researchers are expanding their focus on exploring how discourses of self and identity in data remain inclusive from the perspectives of those populations, communities and individuals.

Data collection methodologies develop. These methodologies are increasingly becoming perceived as significant and impactful research assets in their own right. These developments are in themselves a critical element of the social construction of statistics, and they reflect, sometimes imperfectly, the lived experience of data subjects.

We are privileged that the poet, author, broadcaster and Chancellor of the University of Manchester, Lemn Sissay MBE, will give the keynote address at #DataImpact2021. He provides a personal perspective about how identity can be removed and (re) constructed in data and the impact on his life.

#DataImpact2021 will explore: #IdentityInData: Who Counts? Visibility, voice and culture in data collection and reuse.

Participants will also hear about the ways in which researchers and policymakers from UK academia, public and, voluntary and community sectors use and therefore gain insight into discourses of representation in data focused on populations, communities and individuals.

By the end of the event, participants will have discovered perspectives which could offer a pathway towards a continued collective focus on evolving the representation of lived experience in data, in their research and policy.

They will have the opportunity to explore the potential for the establishment of a digital community focused on research and policy focused on #SelfInData or #IdentityInData.

Join us for this important and ground-breaking UK Data Service #DataImpact2021 event.

Google the name “Lemn Sissay” and all the returning hits will be about him because there is only one Lemn Sissay in the world. Lemn Sissay is a BAFTA nominated award winning writer, international poet, performer playwright, artist and broadcaster. He has read on stage throughout the world: from The Library of Congress in The United States to The University of Addis Ababa, from Singapore to Sri Lanka, Bangalore to Dubai, from Bali to Greenland AND Wigan library.

He was awarded an MBE for services to literature by The Queen of England. Along with Chimamanda Ngoze Adichie and Margaret Atwood he won a Pen Pinter Prize in 2019. He is Chancellor of The University of Manchester and an Honorary Doctor from The Universities of Huddersfield, Manchester, Kent and Brunei. He is Dr Dr Dr Dr Lemn Sissay. He was the first poet commissioned to write for the London Olympics and poet of the FA Cup.

Gillian Prior is Director of Survey Research at NatCen Social Research. As Britain’s leading centre for independent social research, NatCen has over 50 years’ experience of listening to the public and making sure their voice is heard, with a particular focus on finding ways of engaging under-represented groups. Gillian has spent her career in applied social research and oversees NatCen’s social surveys in a wide range of policy areas, including household, longitudinal and health surveys, with a team of around 50 researchers and data specialists. She is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences and a Trustee of the Social Research Association.