New report highlights impact of the Scotland Talks Data public panel

The public panel helps to inform research and the use of administrative data in Scotland. Since 2023, the Scotland Talks Data public panel has been jointly hosted by SCADR and RDS, which has allowed it to grow in membership and enhance the different activities the panel members can undertake.

The panel are involved in a range of activities, including discussing different research proposals; advising on issues including around public trust and acceptability; helping to communicate administrative data research and processes in a clear and accessible manner; and informing further public engagement work.

The new report identifies some of the key projects that the panel have been involved in, including:

Synthetic data

Panel feedback has informed approaches to synthetic data, including directly informing how RDS creates, communicates and allows access to synthetic data.

Researcher Access Service and private sector access to data

Panel members reviewed plans for the Researcher Access Service – Research Data Scotland’s streamlined end-to-end platform for researchers accessing secure data – and a draft policy for enabling private sector access to public sector data for research in the public benefit.

RDS video explainers

The panel provided feedback on three video explainers about data topics, which have since been used in public dialogue sessions and won a silver prize for ‘Best Use of Animation’ at the DataComms Awards 2025.

On publication of the report, Katie Oldfield, Public Engagement Manager at RDS, said: “We’re delighted to share our first impact report, which demonstrates some of the real-world influence that our public panel members have had on Scotland’s research data landscape.

“Administrative data is about the people of Scotland and used to benefit the people of Scotland, so it is vital they have a say and are involved in our work. I want to thank all our panel members for their hard work, valuable insights and continued dedication.”

Harriet Baird, Engagement Lead at SCADR, said: “SCADR, as part of ADR Scotland, and RDS share a key mission of improving the ways public sector data is used for research and generating valuable insights that can improve the lives of people living in Scotland. The Scotland Talks Data public panel ensures the public have a voice in data research, and I’m pleased that we’re able to showcase some of their recent contributions in this report.”