International Data Access Network (IDAN)

The UK Data Service is a member of the International Data Access Network (IDAN), founded in 2018.Map depicts the International Data Access Network countries.

IDAN is a collaboration between five Research Data Centres (RDCs) from France, Germany, The Netherlands and the United Kingdom to facilitate research use of controlled access data between these RDCs/countries via reciprocal provision of Safe Room Remote Desktop Access.

As part of IDAN the UK Data Service provides secure data access points within the UK Data Service Safe Room at the University of Essex to facilitate on-site direct remote access to international controlled data of its partners. The German Institute for Employment Research (IAB) access point and the French Secure Access Data Centre (CASD – Centre d’Accès Sécurisé aux Données) access point are successfully in place and welcomed by our community of researchers.

From 14 February 2022, for the first time, the UK Data Service made selected UK controlled data available to researchers abroad. As a first step, selected SecureLab/controlled datasets from the Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER) and the Centre for Longitudinal Studies (CLS), became available via a Safe Room access point at one of our IDAN Partners, the Research Data Centre (FDZ) of the Federal Employment Agency (BA) at the Institute for Employment Research (IAB), Germany. Later, further Safe Room access points were set up and are now available to researchers at GESIS, Leibniz-Institute for the Social Sciences (Cologne, and Mannheim), Germany; and at CASD, Centre d’Accès Sécurisé aux Données, France.

Available data access points for UK-based researchers at the UKDS Safe Room at the UK Data Archive, University of Essex

  • IAB FDZ – Research Data Centre (FDZ) of the German Federal Employment Agency (BA) at the Institute for Employment Research (IAB), Nuremberg, Germany
    IAB FDZ data
    Watch video: What IAB’s Research Data Center can do
  • CASD – The Secure Access Data Center (CASD), France
    CASD data
  • The Secure Data Center at GESIS – The Secure Data Center at GESIS – Leibniz-Institute for the Social Sciences (Cologne/ Mannheim), Germany
    GESIS data

Planned data access points for UK-based researchers at the UKDS Safe Room at the UK Data Archive, University of Essex

  • CBS – Statistics Netherlands (CBS), Netherlands
    CBS data

Data access/ Safe Room bookings

The UK Data Service provides the Safe Room and the technical infrastructure. Data access is organised via the data providers.

An overview of the different accreditation processes of all IDAN partner institutions is available.

To make a booking for the UKDS Safe Room at the UK Data Archive, University of Essex, please complete the online form and select ‘Safe Room booking’ from the dropdown list under ‘Your query’ -> ‘What would you like to contact us about?’.

Please note, at present the UKDS Safe Room at the UK Data Archive, University of Essex, is closed due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.

British Household Panel Survey

Understanding Society

Millennium Cohort Study

1970 British Cohort Study

Next Steps

National Child Development Study

Available UKDS SecureLab data access points

Planned UKDS SecureLab data access points

Data access

The data access point hosts provide the Safe Room and the technical infrastructure. Data access is organised via the data provider, the UK Data Service.

To access UKDS SecureLab data, please see our UKDS SecureLab application guide for non-ONS data for researchers outside of the UK via Safe Room Remote Desktop Access.

Partners

  • The Secure Access Data Center (CASD/ France): Roxane Silberman, Kamel Gadouche
  • Statistics Netherlands (CBS/ Netherlands): Maarten Bloem, Ran van den Boom
  • Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences (GESIS/ Germany): Heike Wirth
  • Research Data Centre of the German Federal Employment Agency at the Institute for Employment Research (IAB/ Germany): Dana Mueller, Matthias Umkehrer
  • UK Data Service (UKDS/ United Kingdom): Beate Lichtwardt.