What happens next
Following receipt of your application and evidence, our Data Access team will process your application as soon as possible. Our team screen your application for completeness, including what you intend to do with the data; your proposed use of the data is justified and that your project will deliver clear public benefit.
Once it passes the initial screening, then it progresses to further checks, including feasibility assessment, ethics and methodology checks, if needed.
When we are satisfied with the quality of the application it will be sent to the data owners who will review your project.
If the data owners approve your project, you will be given access to your requested data only for the purposes specified for your project.
We will confirm the decision to you by email. If you have completed all the elements of the application, including attending Safe Researcher training, before we confirm the decision, then you are likely to get access immediately.
Turnaround times
We will start screening your application as soon as possible and keep you informed of the progress of your application throughout the process. The application process starts from when you submit all your application documents to us, rather than when you add the dataset(s) to your project.
If the application is well prepared and approval is granted with no changes required, you can expect to gain access to the data in approximately 3-4 months.
If you require an update on a current application, please email help@ukdataservice.ac.uk, please include your name, institution and the Project ID.