How can I use data from the UK Data Service for my project?

The difference between ‘user type’ and ‘usage’

When you register with us, you will be asked what your user type is.

User types correspond to the type of organisation that you are affiliated with and what role you have there – for example, a lecturer at the University of Essex would be classified under the ‘Staff at institute of higher education or university’ user type.

However, your use of the data does not necessarily correspond to your user type – it’s quite common for commercial users to have non-commercial projects. Projects in our system are classified as either ‘non-commercial’, ‘commercial’ or ‘teaching’ types.

Below, we explain what these mean.

What is it?

This is the most common project type. Non-commercial projects are any projects where revenue is not being directly generated from the data use and/or there is a public good resulting from it.

This includes not-for-profit academic and policy research, projects conducted for public not-for-profit bodies by commercial organisations, commercial organisations using data for internal research purposes, and use of data for student projects, such as undergraduate dissertations or group presentations. It does not include research that results in products that require payment, such as subscription products or use of the data in classroom settings.

Who can have this project type?

Anyone of any user type, as long as they’re not generating revenue from the data use or using the data within a classroom setting.

Which datasets can be used for this project type?

All datasets in our collection can be used for non-commercial use, provided the researcher accessing meets the access requirements.

What is it?

This project classification is for projects where the end use of the data does not have a public benefit and/or revenue is being generated from the data, for example, where the data are used to create a subscription product.

Belonging to a commercial organisation does not necessarily mean that your use of the data would be classified as commercial. If you are uncertain whether your project should be classified as commercial or non-commercial, our specialist Data Access team will be able to advise you. Commercial use of the data is subject to licensing and incurs administrative fees of £450 per project, plus £50 per dataset added to that project, plus VAT. We do not sell data and the copyright remains with the data owner. Commercial projects are our least common project type.

Who can have this project type?

Theoretically, anyone of any user type – we are now seeing commercial projects at academic institutions that have enterprise research arms and are producing subscription products. However, most commercial projects are carried out by researchers with ‘commercial user’ type, who belong to commercial organisations.

Which datasets can be used for this project type?

Only safeguarded End User Licence (EUL) data can be used for commercial projects. Special Licence, Secure Access and Safe Room Access datasets are not available for commercial use.

What is it?

Teaching projects are for use when data are being shared in a classroom/course type setting, for example, a lecturer delivering a data analysis module to undergraduate students, or a session leader delivering training on a particular dataset to a targeted group of researchers.

Teaching projects are not suitable for usages where lecturers/academic supervisors are overseeing a student’s individual work, such as for undergraduate dissertations – in those cases, the student should register their own non-commercial use. Where safeguarded data are being used in a classroom/course type setting, the teacher must ensure that everyone in the class has registered and agreed to our End User Licence (EUL).

Who can have this project type?

Most user types, but students (with the exception of postgraduate students who have teaching responsibilities) should not use this project type when registering their use of data.

Which datasets can be used for this project type?

Only safeguarded End User Licence (EUL) data can be used for teaching projects. Special Licence, Secure Access and Safe Room Access datasets are not available for teaching use.

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How can I use data from the UK Data Service for my project?

The difference between ‘user type’ and ‘usage’

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