Takeaways from ‘UKDS PRUK - Skills Development for Managing Longitudinal Data for Sharing’

Population Research UK (PRUK) is a new national resource, which is maximising the potential of Longitudinal Population Studies (LPS) data by bringing together and developing the infrastructure, processes and people that will enable LPS data to be efficiently enhanced, accessed and analysed. ESRC and MRC, part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), commissioned activities to inform and help address some critical challenges and opportunities facing the LPS community in preparation of the PRUK launch. ‘Skills Development for Managing Longitudinal Data for Sharing’ was one of these initial projects. The project aimed to increase and expand the skills and expertise available to support the wider sharing and increased use of LPS data resources. It developed the understanding of biomedical-specific data sharing barriers, built on existing knowledge and led to the preparation of further training materials to be used within the LPS community across social and biomedical sciences. Our presentation summarises the lessons learned during this 18-month project and highlights the impact and takeaways of this initiative. It reflects the UK Data Service’s response to a call to action from funders, offering insights into how to expand and improve training provision for managing and sharing LPS data in alignment with Research Data Policies.