Research resources
41. Another of the major challenges identified by
ESRC for the next five to ten years concerned data access and
usage. ESRC described data resources to us as "the very lifeblood
of economic and social research" and Professor Diamond was
keen to point out that the costs of building and maintaining a
world class data infrastructure mean that "Social science
is no longer a cheap option".[88],[89]
In 2003-04 ESRC spent £11.62m on resources and, following
a major review of its longitudinal datasets, has agreed to commit
an additional £22m over the next six years to further sweeps
of the British Household Panel Study, the National Child Development
Study, the 1970 Birth Cohort Study and the Millennium Cohort.[90]
ESRC also asserted that "if the UK is to maintain its position
at the leading international edge, then it needs to do more than
simply commit to the long term support of existing data sets".[91]
The collection and analysis of major new datasets would clearly
require significant additional funding.
42. The British Psychological Society emphasised
the national benefit that could be gained through these research
resources, commenting that ESRC "collects and analyses data,
not only to discern patterns of behaviour but also to identify
processes and behaviours that could contribute to informed and
evidence-based decisions on the effectiveness of specific interventions
and initiatives on, for example, reducing drug-related crimes".[92]
However, the British Psychological Society expressed concern that
ESRC's "vital role in underpinning evidence-based policies"
was "not fully understood in the 'corridors of power'",
accounting for "the relatively small financial support that
the ESRC receives from the Government".[93]
43. The Department for Trade and Industry (DTI) and
Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) do at least seem to recognise
the importance of national datasets. DTI told us: "Some of
the projects funded by the ESRC provide evidence for policy appraisal.
Examples include the Workplace Employee Relations Survey which
is co-funded with DFES, ESRC and DTI".[94]
DWP also noted its intention to increasingly exploit "the
capacity to utilise government administrative databases and major
surveys data in its analytical work for policy purposes".[95]
DWP further told us that it was "considering with ESRC the
possibility of opportunities for co-funding of longitudinal data
collection".[96]
Longitudinal studies and the
collection and maintenance of national datasets are essential
to build an evidence base to inform effective policy development.
Such work is, however, costly and it is unreasonable to expect
ESRC to fund these major activities out of its modest budget.
Where a dataset is of particular relevance to a Government Department,
the Department should shoulder the majority of the financial burden,
whilst taking advantage of ESRC's skills and experience. We recommend
that ESRC pursues this issue with the relevant Departments. In
addition, given the reliance on these datasets by both Government
and the research community, we recommend that future Spending
Review allocations ensure that the collection and maintenance
of national datasets are fully funded to prevent ESRC having to
cut funding for other research activities to preserve these important
statistics.
41 
