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Alison Park @parkali.bsky.social · Sep 9

A blog from me on why social science infrastructures matter. I talk about the value of social science data collections & data services (especially @ukdsimpact.bsky.social), current opportunities and challenges (including AI, the growth of TREs & training), & what we're doing about them at ESRC.

UK Data Service Impact @ukdsimpact.bsky.social · Sep 9

🎉New on the Data Impact blog🎉

Professor Alison Park (@parkali.bsky.social), from ESRC, discusses the importance of UK social science data infrastructures and outlines some of the opportunities and challenges they face in our new Data Impact blog.

blog.ukdataservice.ac.uk/park-esrc-da...

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UK Data Service Impact @ukdsimpact.bsky.social · Sep 9

🎉New on the Data Impact blog🎉

Professor Alison Park (@parkali.bsky.social), from ESRC, discusses the importance of UK social science data infrastructures and outlines some of the opportunities and challenges they face in our new Data Impact blog.

blog.ukdataservice.ac.uk/park-esrc-da...

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Alison Park @parkali.bsky.social · Sep 9

Absolutely delighted that ESRC and UKRI are funding this new study - and great to hear one of its leads, Pasco Fearon, discussing its value just now on BBCR4 Today. Also led by @clscohorts.bsky.social.

News from UK Research and Innovation @news.ukri.org · Sep 9

UKRI announces first UK-wide birth cohort study in 25 years #ESRC #AcademicSky

UKRI announces first UK-wide birth cohort study in 25 years

A ground-breaking UK-wide scientific study will help improve the lives of future generations by studying 30,000 children born in 2026.

www.ukri.org

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News from UK Research and Innovation @news.ukri.org · Sep 9

UKRI announces first UK-wide birth cohort study in 25 years #ESRC #AcademicSky

UKRI announces first UK-wide birth cohort study in 25 years

A ground-breaking UK-wide scientific study will help improve the lives of future generations by studying 30,000 children born in 2026.

www.ukri.org

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Stian Westlake @stianwestlake.bsky.social · Nov 22

UKRI is recruiting a Director to lead work on R&D and Place.

A great opportunity for an action-oriented leader who wants to tackle the many well-documented issues of the geography of R&D in the UK!

careersportal.taleo.net/careersectio...

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Christopher Smith @christophersmith.bsky.social · Jan 6

What would it look like to reimagine #arts and #humanities as a vital and creative force for change at the heart of #science?
For 25 years, the Arts and Humanities Research Council has supported the transformation of our understanding of ourselves through research...

Arts and Humanities Research Council 25 years of excellence and impact against a colourful background

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Alison Park @parkali.bsky.social · May 15

One for anyone with an interest in the research potential of administrative data! The 2025 @adr-uk.bsky.social conference will be in Cardiff on 17-18 September. Full details including keynote speakers & the ministerial address by Rt. Hon Mark Drakeford MS (Member of Senedd) in the thread below.

adr-uk.bsky.social @adr-uk.bsky.social · May 13

The conference will feature four keynote speakers, each bringing unique expertise.

Their talks will cover cutting-edge approaches to data use, infrastructure, and the ethical and practical challenges of delivering impact through administrative data.

adrukconference2025.org/keynote-spea...

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adr-uk.bsky.social @adr-uk.bsky.social · May 13

The conference will feature four keynote speakers, each bringing unique expertise.

Their talks will cover cutting-edge approaches to data use, infrastructure, and the ethical and practical challenges of delivering impact through administrative data.

adrukconference2025.org/keynote-spea...

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Kirsty Park @kirstyjpark.bsky.social · Apr 23

🌳 Nature remembers. 🌿
Happy to share our new paper showing that where species live today isn't just about where habitats are - it's also about what happened there before. 🕰️ rdcu.be/eiVZE @watts-km.bsky.social @stir.ac.uk @tfinch.bsky.social @forestresearchuk.bsky.social

Spillovers and legacies of land management on temperate woodland biodiversity

Nature Ecology & Evolution - Data on beetle, bird, plant and mammal occupancy of woodland sites in UK agricultural landscapes demonstrate how contemporary spatial spillovers and legacies of...

rdcu.be

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Alison Park @parkali.bsky.social · Apr 1

Really looking forward to reading it Diane.

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Stian Westlake @stianwestlake.bsky.social · Mar 25

Such a great choice for the new head of Innovate UK! Tom is an inspiring leader and a tech hero.

www.gov.uk/government/n...

New executive chair selected to boost innovation and growth across the UK

Tom Adeyoola selected as preferred candidate to head up Innovate UK.

www.gov.uk

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Alison Park @parkali.bsky.social · Mar 24

Worth interesting to the discussion - I am no expert at all so just going on what the interviewee said, his other point being that the data centre (brand new) had built in capacity to manage in case of an outage. Was c 7.15 today.

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Alison Park @parkali.bsky.social · Mar 24

Astonishing fact on #bbcr4today earlier, discussing the Heathrow power failure. Heathrow requires 41MW; a new data centre nearby needs 150MW. Stark illustration of the underpinning energy consequences of data storage.

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Alison Park @parkali.bsky.social · Feb 13

Great lecture by @hetanshah.bsky.social today on #AI. A key message: AI depends on data (quality, coverage, access, linkage) but not enough focus upon it; “data is the unsexy cousin of AI”. Vital we keep focused on AI AND data, and on ensuring the public have a voice within discussions about both.

The Health Foundation @healthfoundation.bsky.social · Feb 13

TODAY: Join us for our fifth #REALChallenge lecture.

@hetanshah.bsky.social will be exploring what #AI might mean for health, and how to navigate and assess the opportunities and risks.

Register now to attend online ⬇️
 
https://buff.ly/42TRHgu

What might AI mean for our health?

REAL Challenge lecture from Hetan Shah

Thursday 13 February 2025
11.00–12.30

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Miriam Sorace @miriamsorace.bsky.social · Jan 8

New PhD position on my UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship project on political polarization: fully funded + ~20k tax free yearly stipend. Deadline: Feb 14th! Link to apply: www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DLI246/p...

PhD Studentship in Politics and International Relations at University of Reading

Explore the PhD Studentship in Politics and International Relations on jobs.ac.uk, the top job board for higher education. Apply now.

www.jobs.ac.uk

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Alison Park @parkali.bsky.social · Feb 3

Agree. It really illustrates the importance of not looking at poll findings in isolation. As the blog shows, none of the major respected time series surveys show comparable findings (either in terms of the magnitude of difference between generations or the trends over time).

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Alison Park @parkali.bsky.social · Jan 18

So true! But I wonder how many people checked whether something had gone wrong with their streaming?! We did…

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Alison Park @parkali.bsky.social · Jan 17

ESRC recently collaborated with Wellcome on the UK National Data Library Technical White Paper Challenge.

Five submissions were successful and have now been published - do take a look:
wellcome.org/what-we-do/o...

UK National Data Library | Wellcome

We are seeking technical visions and architectures for a UK National Data Library to make public sector datasets more accessible to researchers and enable future science to thrive.

wellcome.org

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Ben Goldacre @bengoldacre.bsky.social · Jan 17

We just published a paper on what the new NATIONAL DATA LIBRARY should look like.

It's very readable!

Lots on: accountability.. federated analytics.. code.. modular tools..

Thanks to @wellcometrust and @ESRC who ran a competition for these papers!

zenodo.org/records/1467...

A National Data Library: the Modular Approach

The UK National Data Library: Technical White Paper Challenge, initiated by Wellcome and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), sought visionary approaches to enhancing access to UK public s...

zenodo.org

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Alison Park @parkali.bsky.social · Jan 11

I really enjoyed this - very thought provoking. Your new home sounds beautiful.

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Yvonne Jewkes @yvonnejewkes.bsky.social · Jan 11

Lovely article about me, my new book, and my home in today’s FT Weekend
on.ft.com/3PtDGxU

Criminologist Yvonne Jewkes: ‘Confinement comes in many guises’

As the UK grapples with overcrowded prisons, she aims to change their design to make them feel less institutional and more like homes. In Bath, a Victorian cottage is her own great escape

on.ft.com

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Alison Park @parkali.bsky.social · Jan 9

Fair point - I was referring only to the clip.

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Alison Park @parkali.bsky.social · Jan 9

In case you missed it - cohort studies got a mention on Call the Midwife last Sunday (specifically the 1970 Birth Cohort Study)! A bit cheesy I know, but good to see these essential data resources, & the unique insight they make possible, get the attention they deserve. www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p...

BBC One - Call the Midwife, Series 14, Episode 1, "This is going to be teaching us things for 80 years"

The midwives get to grips with the 1970 Birth Cohort Study.

www.bbc.co.uk

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Alison Park @parkali.bsky.social · Jan 6

It's ESRC's 60th birthday in 2025 - keep an eye out for how we are planning to celebrate! In the meantime, if you're interested in how our history connects to our current strategic thinking take a look at @stianwestlake.bsky.social's blog below.

Stian Westlake @stianwestlake.bsky.social · Jan 6

2025 is the ESRC's 60th anniversary year!

Our precursor organisation, the Social Science Research Council, was founded in 1965; its first director was Michael Young, who had argued for its creation for two decades.

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Stian Westlake @stianwestlake.bsky.social · Jan 6

2025 is the ESRC's 60th anniversary year!

Our precursor organisation, the Social Science Research Council, was founded in 1965; its first director was Michael Young, who had argued for its creation for two decades.

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Alison Park @parkali.bsky.social · Dec 12

“These models can see patterns humans cannot, but not all patterns they identify are meaningful or reliable” … AI not immune to the correlation and causation challenge.

Dr Abeba Birhane @abeba.bsky.social · Dec 12

"Researchers trained medical AI models on over 25,000 knee X-rays. They then essentially worked backwards, tasking the deep learning programs to find commonalities that predicted nonsensical traits, such as which knee-owners clearly drank beer or ate refried beans—which is patently absurd."

Godspeed You! Bluesky Emperor @andrewpaul.bsky.social · Dec 12

meanwhile,

www.popsci.com/technology/a...

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Dr Abeba Birhane @abeba.bsky.social · Dec 12

"Researchers trained medical AI models on over 25,000 knee X-rays. They then essentially worked backwards, tasking the deep learning programs to find commonalities that predicted nonsensical traits, such as which knee-owners clearly drank beer or ate refried beans—which is patently absurd."

Godspeed You! Bluesky Emperor @andrewpaul.bsky.social · Dec 12

meanwhile,

www.popsci.com/technology/a...

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Alison Park @parkali.bsky.social · Dec 7

Interesting @jburnmurdoch.bsky.social FT Data Points today - does the apparent rise in the UK’s illness-related activity say as much about incentives in the benefit system as the nation’s health? Good to see (ESRC funded!) Understanding Society - UKHLS - as a key data source.

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Alison Park @parkali.bsky.social · Dec 5

Delighted the ECHILD team, funded by ADR UK, has been awarded the ONS Research Excellence Award 2024 in the category of Secure Data Creation.

ECHILD is a pioneering linked data resource that integrates administrative data across sectors from health & education. Find out more - www.echild.ac.uk

ECHILD: Education and Child Health Insights from Linked Data

www.echild.ac.uk

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Tom Calver @tomcalver.bsky.social · Dec 1

NEW: Why do we always think crime is rising, even when it isn’t?

This week I looked at one of the big data mysteries. Britain is 2/3 less violent than the 1990s; thefts were higher pre-lockdown

Why, then, doesn’t it feel like it?

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@thetimes.com

🔗 www.thetimes.com/article/b63d...

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