The ONS Research Excellence Awards 2022 are now open for nominations.

The awards are for researchers who have used ONS Data and recognise innovative analyses that promote best practice research methodologies and data matching or linking. The awards also promote greater awareness and understanding of the data that has been made available by services such as the ONS Secure Research Service (ONS SRS) and the public good achieved from the subsequent statistical research.

Data linking and sharing is important because it means that more data is available for research that contributes to the public good. The Digital Economy Act (DEA) research powers allow researchers to apply for access to controlled data, including data from DEA-accredited processors such as the ONS SRS.

Last year, 165 projects received accreditation from the DEA to access controlled data, which has enabled research that has informed a diverse range of economic or societal issues, including the UK government’s response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the impact of the National Living Wage on aspects such as employment.

This year, the ONS Research Excellence Awards have five award categories, which are available to anyone who has used ONS data for their projects. The categories are:

  • ONS Research Excellence Award
  • ONS Cross-government Analysis Award
  • ONS Linked Administrative Data Award
  • ONS Early Career Research Award
  • ONS People’s Choice Award

To learn more about the Award categories and to check if projects are eligible to enter, visit the Excellence Awards page on the ONS website.