Data use and productivity study: information for participants
What you need to know about being part of the business data use and productivity study.
Documents
Details
The Business data use and productivity study explores data use in individual UK businesses and at the economy-wide level, to better understand the data-related activities and attitudes towards data that promote higher productivity and growth.
The study is based on a survey that asks businesses about the amount of money and time they invest in data assets, in addition to their data-related skills and activities. We use this data to estimate the potential impact this might have on productivity on the UK economy.
The study is based on telephone interviews and online surveys of UK businesses. The multi-year study began in 2022/23 and participants were asked if they were willing in future waves of the survey in 2024/25 and 2026/27.
This is the second wave of the survey. Ipsos has been commissioned to carry out the survey fieldwork which takes place from November 2024 to March 2025.
During this period some organisations will be called by an Ipsos interviewer from their Edinburgh office (an 0131 number) inviting them to take part. You may also receive an email to let you know Ipsos has called and inviting you to reply. You may be offered the option of completing the survey online and, if so, you will receive the survey link via email from Ipsos - UK-PA-DSIT-DataUse-Productivity@ipsos.com
How participant’s survey responses supported wave 1
The first wave of this study used participants’ data to estimate the current level of data investment in the UK economy. It also explored the potential impact on productivity of a larger and more advanced data market.
Key findings
-
To achieve the greatest benefit from data, businesses need to not only purchase and invest in data, but also develop and invest in the advanced analytical tools and skills to transform these data into more valuable final products
-
Investments in data, and other intangible assets such as intellectual property, could make businesses and the economy more resilient and better at recovering from economic downturns
-
For data to bring the most benefit to the whole economy requires investment in data capital and skills to enhance the maturity of the ‘data-driven’ sector of the economy
-
The greatest economic benefits from data come when it is shared or more available to the right businesses and organisations, but similarly to intellectual property rights, individual businesses often do not share as much as they could, potentially due to fear of losing their competitive edge
If you’re interested in reading more about the findings you can find the full report here.
Who is being invited to take part?
Participation in the study is voluntary. Businesses across the UK have been selected at random, from the Market Location Database, whilst ensuring a spread across different sectors and numbers of employees. The Market Location Database is a list of UK businesses maintained by Market Location for commercial purposes. This information is provided to us by Market Location, so please see their privacy notice for details.
Some respondents from the 1st wave of the survey said they could be contacted about participating in future waves and Ipsos will also be reaching out to these businesses.
How does your participation in wave 2 help?
Through your participation you can help us understand:
-
what benefit data can bring to businesses
-
what tools and skills are most important in transforming these data into final products
-
how the use of data in an individual business can help benefit the whole economy
Who is conducting the survey?
Ipsos is carrying out the survey on behalf of the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT).
Ipsos is a well-known survey organisation in the UK. It carries out research studies in the areas of social and public policy, covering topics such as sport, culture, health, science, education, crime and employment.
Contacts
To contact Ipsos about the survey, please find the relevant contact details below
Telephone: 020 3059 5204
Email: UK-PA-DSIT-DataUse-Productivity@ipsos.com
Data protection and privacy notice
For general information on how DSIT handles personal data, please read DSIT’s personal information charter.
More detailed information about how your personal data is processed, as well as your rights under the data protection legislation, is available in the privacy notice in the documents section at the top of this page.
For any data protection queries please contact the DSIT Data Protection Officer: dataprotection@dsit.gov.uk.
Please visit the Ipsos website to access the Ipsos privacy notice for the survey.
The Information Commissioner’s Office has produced a guide to your rights. If you are not happy with the way we are processing your data, you have the right to lodge a complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office about our practices, or you can call their helpline on 0303 123 1113.
Enquiries
For general queries about the questionnaire and survey outputs, please contact the Data Policy Analysis team at DSIT: ukbusinessdatasurvey@dsit.gov.uk