How can we use administrative data?

27/04/2018

Although the Visegrad states have a tradition of extensive data collection, these data are seldom used to support evidence based policy. BI senior researcher Ágota Scharle talked about the causes and solutions in Prague on 27 April.

Access and merging of administrative data from different sources is not only constrained by overly restrictive legislation but also by the lack of trust between academic and government organisations as well as within the government. In Hungary, this has improved substantially since the adoption of Act 101 of 2007 that ensures access to anonymised personal data for research and policy analysis. The seminar offered first-hand experience from the implementation and ten years of operation of this legal framework and provided a platform to discuss the potential of adopting a similar approach in the Czech Republic.

Last year the topic was also discussed at a workshop in Budapest. The related press release and policy brief is available here.