As part of our commitment to making access and understanding of the samples and data we have as clear and easy as possible, we have recently introduced the following updates on our website.

Publishing with Wellcome Open Research

We are delighted to announce a new relationship with Wellcome Open Research which enables any researcher using ALSPAC data to publish data notes describing ALSPAC datasets. It also enables Wellcome-funded researchers who have used ALSPAC data in their studies to publish full research articles. 

The partnership aims to make ALSPAC data more accessible, and enable the wider research community to reuse ALSPAC datasets.

ALSPAC variable searching

While we have always provided complete listings for ALSPAC data, telling the story of more than 25 years of data collection, storage and release is never easy. We now provide an online search tool for you to browse collected data and to put together lists of variables to supplement your online proposal directly.

New Data Access Agreement (DAA)

Our data access policies have recently changed to bring them in line with University and ISO27001 (our information security accreditation) standards, and the introduction of General Data Protection Regulation at the end of May.

The ALSPAC data access agreement (PDF, 428kB) has been brought in to replace the previous data transfer agreement (DTA) which had previously only been used for projects using genetic data. It is a more formalised data sharing document and is now required for all projects. 

As noted in the ALSPAC access policy (PDF, 630kB) all project leads outside the University of Bristol will be required to complete a DAA on behalf of their institution. For each project, any data users from other institutions will also have to ensure a DAA is completed. 

The introduction of the DAA does mean a slight change in costs – however we are pleased to report that on average data access costs for ALSPAC will now be cheaper.

Funding renewal and ALSPAC @ 30 workshops

Early next year, we will be applying to renew ALSPAC’s strategic funding for July 2019 to July 2024. As part of this process, we will be consulting a wide range of stakeholders as we plan our vision and mission for the next five years. We are really excited about the development of ALSPAC through this important period marking 30 years of the study and are running two ALSPAC @ 30 workshops where we are looking to seek opinion and discussion about the direction of our work.