What You Need to Know: ESRC Secondary Data Analysis Initiative

Or do you have a better idea about using the data? 
Photo by Franki Chamaki on Unsplash

The ESRC’s Secondary Data Analysis Initiative might not win any awards for ease of verbal articulation, but it does “do exactly what it says on the tin”. Sarah Tetley hears more from Tina Haux about the scheme, and what academics need to do if they want to be successful.

Launched in 2016, the Initiative aims to “deliver high-quality high-impact research through utilising existing data resources created by the ESRC and other agencies in order to address some of the most pressing challenges facing society”.

The Grants Factory on the 31 October 2018 gave delegates the opportunity to get an insiders’ view of the scheme.  Dr Tina Haux (SSPSSR), is a member of the SDAI Review Panel and was able to both share her knowledge of recent changes to the scheme; and, her insights into what reviewers particularly look for in applications.

Key Features of the Scheme

• The initiative operates alongside ESRC’s Research Grants open call which means that proposals can be submitted at any time.
• Funding is provided for up to 24 months with an overall limit of £300,000 (100% fEC) per grant.
• Between 12 – 15 awards are made a year.
• ESRC has relaxed the requirement for using only ESRC-funded data.  It is now possible to submit an application using any appropriate UK and international data resources but they do encourage the use of at least one ESRC -funded data resource.  
• The scheme is now open to the inclusion of researchers at different career stages who wish to develop their skills in using secondary data. In keeping with its original aims, however, applications from early career researchers as principal investigators or co-investigators are particularly welcomed (and are likely to be prioritised over an application that has been submitted by a more established academic).  
• Proposals that include non-academic partners are also particularly encouraged.  
• The data can be of any type (including qualitative, linguistic, international comparative)…just as long as they qualify as being “secondary”. 

Tina’s Tips for Success

• If including an early career researcher in the proposal (or if the PI is an ECR), pay particular attention to describing how they will genuinely be involved in the project, e.g. by being lead author on paper/s; involved in dissemination; and receiving tailored skills development.
• Emphasise the impact, and demonstrate an awareness of current debates and key policy actors.  Then state how you will identify, communicate and collaborate with key stakeholders throughout the life of the project.  Letters of support and a detailed and sophisticated dissemination strategy are important.
• Panel members like to see innovation. Using or linking data in novel ways and/or using novel methods to explore the data. This helps the reviewers to tick the “contribution to knowledge” box…
• As with every application, make sure that you have a clear question and a credible plan for answering it. 
• Make sure you convince the reviewer that you (and/or the team) have sufficient familiarity with the data and the proposed methods.
• Demonstrate a track record of being able to deliver (e.g. publication record).  

Of the three open calls operated by ESRC, the SDAI is the least applied to and, consequently, has a higher “hit rate”  than either the Standard Grant or New Investigator Scheme.  So if you have some interesting questions, have a think about whether they could be answered with existing data…and then consider applying to this scheme.