Smart Data Research UK

Check out our latest blog post about the Web Archives for Social Sciences Datathon.

The Datathon was organised as part of the @sdruk.bsky.social project 'An Atlas of Economic Activities in the UK: tapping into web archives for social science research'.

Read the blog post: tinyurl.com/57fseyvw

Data on young people and education event poster

⏰ One week to go until our Data on young people and education at the UK Data Service webinar.

Book your place at the link below:

📅 28 January 2026
⏰ 13:00-14:00
📍 Online
🧷 ukdataservice.ac.uk/events/data-...

Copy reads: “Funding call webinar, policy exchange, 28 January 2026, 15:00 – 16:00, online”. Left side: black text on white background. Right side: word “policy” highlighted in pink. Population Research UK logo at the top left.

📢 New funding call from Population Research UK! Over £900K available to establish a policy exchange connecting policymakers & LPS researchers. Join our webinar on 28 January to learn more about the scope, expected deliverables and how to apply. Register: shorturl.at/Bf07f

Poster on a blue posterboard with Huw Day standing to the left and Laura Fryer standing to the right

Collage of various words from the survey. Some words are larger than others based on how repetitive the word was

Two laptops with the one on the left showing some code and the one on the right showing the graph that the code produced

📰 2024/25 JGI Seedcorn project blog post now available!

'Visualisation tool for Enhancing Public Engagement Using Supermarket Loyalty Card Data'

Blog post by Laura Fryer

This seedcorn project was supported by Huw Day Huw Day

Read more now: tinyurl.com/2pmwe3ms

Copy reads: Workshops, Identifying AI training needs for population research. Left side: black text on white background. Right side: AI image. Population Research UK logo.

📢 AI Workshops alert!

We’re bringing together researchers from the LPS community to co-design a new AI training platform. Join one of our workshops:

✅ Beginners – 26 January 2:00 – 3:15pm
✅ Experts – 23 February 2:00 – 3:15pm

👉 Complete the quick form to find your fit: shorturl.at/cE4uX

🚍 Billboards, Bus Stops and Obesity

New restrictions on advertising unhealthy foods have tightened rules for TV and online – but one area remains largely untouched: outdoor advertising.

A new blog explores how smart data and people power could play a part in addressing the gap.

bit.ly/4jCCgPU

🎓 UK students! Applications open for the 2026 Masters Dissertation Scheme, run by our Geographic Data Service.

Work with top organisations on real-world, data-driven projects.

Sponsors include Experian, Kainos, Geolytix, Jollyes Pets, and more.

Apply now 👉https://bit.ly/4sEmdFp

Taking place this Wednesday. Book your ticket now: events.teams.microsoft.com/event/5b9baf...

🎫 Connect - online tickets now available. Join us for the full event or simply tune in to the sessions that interest you most. Book now: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/hrfh-conne...

Reminder - Webinar: Advancing cardiovascular monitoring: from radar sensing to wearable emergency detection
Our next webinar is taking place soon on Wednesday 14 January, 2026 3pm-4pm, GMT. Book now: events.teams.microsoft.com/event/5b9baf...

What a year! Thanks for being part of the Smart Data Research UK community - here's to 2026 👏

Webinar: Advancing cardiovascular monitoring: from radar sensing to wearable emergency detection
Wednesday 14 January, 2026 | 3pm-4pm, GMT | Book now: events.teams.microsoft.com/event/5b9baf...

Estimating internal displacement in Ukraine from high-frequency GPS mobile phone data - Humanities and Social Sciences Communications Humanities and Social Sciences Communications - Estimating internal displacement in Ukraine from high-frequency GPS mobile phone data

1/
Internal displacement is hard to measure, esp. in the early phase of a crisis when operational decisions must be made with limited info. Our recent work explores whether privacy-preserving GPS mobility data can contribute to short-term displacement estimation.
Paper: doi.org/10.1057/s415...

Fantastic our @moragtreanor.bsky.social latest research has produced a report with @aberlourcharity.bsky.social and @opfs.org.uk - highlighting new research revealing the burden of debt is falling on women. #debt #poverty #female
@adr-uk.bsky.social @sdruk.bsky.social

📅 Webinar: Understanding barriers and avenues to data scraping
1 December 2025, 12:00pm to 1:45pm
Join Smart Data Research UK’s Social Platforms Data Access Taskforce for a webinar exploring the key challenges that researchers face when scraping data.
👉 www.sdruk.ukri.org/2025/11/19/w...

Webinar on data scraping Join Smart Data Research UK's Social Platforms Data Access Taskforce for a webinar on data scraping.

📅 New webinar: Understanding barriers and avenues to data scraping. On 1 December at 12:00pm, join our Social Platforms Data Access Taskforce for a session exploring the challenges that researchers face when scraping data.

👉 Full info: www.sdruk.ukri.org/2025/11/19/w...

📣 Digital Research Community!

The new UK Adolescent Health Study will follow 100k young people (8–18yrs) for 10+ years. Please share what digital technology measures you think it should include.

Please complete this survey (by 24th November 2025 @ 9AM): cambridge.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...

Smart data training for parliament The House of Commons Library and the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology are launching a new training collaboration with SDR UK.

🤝 We're excited to announce a new partnership with the House of Commons Library, and POST, UK Parliament.

Starting this month, we're launching a monthly training series to help parliamentary researchers access and use smart data.

👉 Read the full story here: www.sdruk.ukri.org/2025/11/12/s...

Person standing in confetti with their arms in the air

🎉New on the Data Impact blog🎉

This year, the UK Data Service reached an incredible milestone – over 10,000 data collections are now discoverable through our Data Catalogue. In this two-part series we discuss the journey to this milestone and why it matters.

blog.ukdataservice.ac.uk/10000-data-c...

Catch up on SDR UK's webinar Catch up on SDR UK's webinar - Smart data for economic growth – jobs, money, and living standards, which took place in November 2025.

🎥 Missed our webinar?

Catch up on 'Smart data for economic growth – jobs, money, and living standards'.

Learn how new data sources, such as banking and online activity, can unlock fresh insights into productivity, jobs, and living standards.

👉 Watch now: www.sdruk.ukri.org/2025/11/11/c...

📈 Event: 11 November 2025 - Smart Data Research UK hosts a webinar on "Smart data for economic growth – jobs, money, and living standards". Our panel will discuss how smart data can help reshape economic analysis and shape the future of policymaking. Sign up here: www.sdruk.ukri.org/2025/10/06/w...

Long road lined with trees

🎉New on the Data Impact blog🎉

Richard Welpton (@rwelpton.bsky.social), from the ESRC, outlines the evolving nature of data services and the role of the ESRC's Future Data Services initiative in meeting the growing needs of researchers.

blog.ukdataservice.ac.uk/future-data-...

📣 The Future Data Services report is out! We’re proud to have contributed to this review, and we look forward to working with the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) to support the implementation of its recommendations.

Read the report: zenodo.org/records/1735...

Evidence Week at Westminster, organised by @senseaboutsci.bsky.social, has been a valuable opportunity to demo the power of smart data to inform policymaking.

Here's Magdalena Getler from our Financial Data Service @smartdatafoundry.bsky.social and our Katherine Holden reflecting on the experience.

We’re at Westminster today for #EvidenceWeek with @senseaboutsci.bsky.social. Our Financial Data Service (FINDS) @smartdatafoundry.bsky.social is presenting ‘Smart data for a real-world view of emerging financial hardship’ to MPs, peers, and parliamentary staff - bit.ly/47vPUyK

This week, we’re at #EvidenceWeek in Parliament with @senseaboutsci.bsky.social. Our Financial Data Service (FINDS) @smartdatafoundry.bsky.social is presenting ‘Smart data for a real-world view of emerging financial hardship’ to MPs, peers and parliamentary staff - bit.ly/47vPUyK

📹 Join SDR UK on 11 November (11:00 am) for a webinar: ‘Smart data for economic growth – jobs, money, and living standards’. Part of a new series of live events exploring the opportunities and challenges of using emerging forms of data in research.

👉 Register now: www.sdruk.ukri.org/2025/10/06/w...

⚡ Building a smart energy data platform. Our Smart Energy Data Service (SENSE) @energysyscat.bsky.social is developing a system combining various data sources to provide insights into when people use energy, how much they consume, and how the energy network operates.

👉 Discover more: bit.ly/3JAjew0

Our Financial Data Service (FINDS) @smartdatafoundry.bsky.social has launched its Fellowships! Up to £300,000 is available for 3 - 4 projects that use the team's deidentified datasets to explore societal challenges - open to a broad range of researchers. Read on below 👇

We're looking forward to Evidence Week 2025, the annual event organised by @senseaboutsci.bsky.social.

On 3 November, our Financial Data Service at @smartdatafoundry.bsky.social will lead a webinar “Smart data, smart policy: Visualising emerging financial hardship”.

👉 Full info: bit.ly/3L5jkvV