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DataResSS (Data for Research in Social Sciences)

"Economic science has evolved over several decades toward greater emphasis on empirical work. The data revolution of the past decade is likely to have a further and profound effect on economic research."

Einav and Levin, Science 2014

DataResSS (Data for Research in Social Sciences) is a joint initiative of the Barcelona School of Economics and the Statistical Institute of Catalonia (IDESCAT) to make administrative data from Catalonia available to researchers worldwide.

DataResSS was established as a result of an agreement signed in June 2015 between the IDESCAT and the BSE.

DataResSS aims to be a flexible framework that allows researchers to access statistical and administrative data. While several different types of administrative data are available at IDESCAT, DataResSS also aims to facilitate cooperation between researchers and other agencies of Catalan government that maintain administrative data that is not directly available at the IDESCAT, such as administrative data on health and education.

In order to access administrative data, a researcher must submit a proposal. Proposals will be first evaluated by an academic committee for quality and ethical considerations. An executive committee will then decide on the details of the data access. This stage will possibly require agreements between the researchers and the IDESCAT or other related parties. After this stage, the researcher will be able to access data subject to non-disclosure/non-re-identifying agreements. The data access methods are expected to be determined in a case-by-case basis and can involve direct access to data or restricted access within the IDESCAT premises.

Researchers worldwide are welcome to submit proposals.

How to apply

A proposal should specify:

  • Contribution of the proposed research to the existing literature and its potential impact
  • Potential impact of the proposed research on design and evaluation of existing or potential public policies
  • A detailed description of the data requested
  • A detailed discussion of potential ethical issues (whether the requested data that should be viewed as low risk as far as privacy issues are concerned)
  • A timeline for the completion of the project
  • A short discussion of deliverables (high impact research articles, policy reports etc.)

Each proposal will be evaluated by the Academic Committee of DataResSS.

The role of the Committee is to judge the scientific merits and potential academic and social impact of the proposal and make a recommendation whether an agreement between the researcher(s), the applicant, and IDESCAT should proceed.

The time between the submission of a proposal and the finalization of the recommendation of the Academic Committee is expected to be around 15 days.

Proposals should be sent to DataResSS@idescat.cat
 

The role of the Academic Committee

The role of the Committee is to judge the scientific merits and potential academic and social impact of the proposal and make a recommendation whether an agreement between the researcher(s), the applicant, and IDESCAT should proceed.

The DataResSS Academic Committee members are:

  • Olympia Bover (Bank of Spain)
  • Antonio Ciccone (University of Mannheim, UPF and BSE)
  • Ana-Rute Cardoso (IAE-CSIC and BSE),
  • Maia Güell (University of Edinburg)
  • Christina Rovira, Deputy Director for Production and Coordination at IDESCAT, secretary of the committee
  • Julian di Giovanni, Deputy Director for Research at the BSE

In evaluating a proposal, the Committee will consider the following aspects of the project:

  • Contribution to the existing literature (whether the proposal clearly states how it plans to build on the existing literature and what its potential academic impact will be).
  • Impacts on public policy (whether the proposal can have an impact on design and evaluation of existing or potential public policies).
  • Ethical issues (whether the proposal is asking data that is high or low risk as far as privacy issues are concerned).
  • Feasibility and timeline (whether the proposal is feasible based on the data requested and suggested time frame).
  • Deliverables (what the likely deliverables of the proposal will be: high impact research articles, policy report).

If a committee member has a conflict interest (as a result of academic or family ties to the applicant), the committee member in question will not participate in the evaluation process. Any conflict of interest is expected to be self-declared by the committee members.

The BSE's participation in DataResSS receives support from the Severo Ochoa Research Excellence Program (CEX2019-000915-S) through Spain's State Research Agency (Agencia Estatal de Investigación - AEI). 

The BSE has been accredited as a Severo Ochoa Center of Excellence in all three editions of the program (2012-15, 2016-19, and 2020-23).

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