Inclusive Data Principle 1: Trust
About Principle 1: Create an environment of trust and trustworthiness which allows and encourages everyone to count and be counted in UK data and evidence.
There are 37 commitments under Principle 1. Figure 2 shows the distribution of the commitments by their RAG status. 80% of commitments were completed and green, with the majority of these being completed (49% compared with 32% green). Below we describe a commitment which promotes inclusivity in ONS’ social surveys.
Figure 2: RAG status of all 37 IDTF commitments under Inclusive Data Principle 1
Case study: Inclusivity in Data Collection Programme, Social Surveys, Office for National Statistics
Commitment:
ONS is undertaking a review of operational processes involved in collecting data in our current portfolio of social surveys to determine the barriers to taking part, including among those underrepresented in the statistics. This will enable the design of operational processes where barriers are prevented, removed, or mitigated against. Identifying barriers and proposing solutions will be completed in 2022, followed by research to identify the optimal solutions to implement.
The Office for National Statistics’ (ONS’) Inclusivity in Data Collection Programme has been running since October 2021. The aim is to identify barriers to participation in ONS social surveys and make operational recommendations to make ONS data collection more inclusive.
A programme of research has been carried out to understand experiences with the end-to-end survey process. This included qualitative research with people who have one or more of the five most common mental health conditions, people with visual impairments, people who are deaf/Deaf or hard of hearing, and neurodivergent people (with a focus on Autism, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Dyslexia).
Experiences differed both between group and within group. Barriers identified included difficulty interacting with and feeling excluded from ONS’ postal letters and feeling vulnerable with unexpected visitors on the doorstep. Things which enabled survey completion included being able to complete online, and considering the benefit of taking part to themselves and their community against the effort of taking part.
In February 2024, a workshop was held with leaders in the social surveys field to share and discuss key research findings and successes and learnings related to the inclusivity of social surveys, to shape the future of our social surveys data collection.
The workshop, attended by ONS research and operations colleagues, and representatives from departments across the Government Statistical Service and UK survey organisations, focused on three themes:
- Individuals with physical or mental health conditions or neurodivergence
- Hard-to-reach groups
- Use of differential incentives
Learnings from the workshop have fed into shaping the recommendations from the research programme, which are looking at developing a survey journey better tailored to individual needs. The recommendations from the whole programme are currently being scoped to understand all the steps involved in implementation. These will then be prioritised, considering impact, feasibility and other organisational priorities.
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