Societal data
Thousands of people across the nations of the United Kingdom are interviewed every day; they are asked about their lives and what they really think about important social issues. produced through lebanon rcs data these interviews creates an extremely valuable resource of societal data. Much of this data is held by the UK Data Service.
Societal data gives important context to the work in the VCSE sector. What inequalities are experienced across the nation? What are the health, wellbeing and economic needs of your target audience? Secondary analysis of key survey data can answer these questions and more. For researchers in the VCSE sector, the data is free to access from the UK Data Service.
Many VCSE organisations are small, often there is no dedicated research team; it may fall to the people delivering the services to also provide the evidence of need and impact. Conducting secondary data analysis presents many advantages in relation to size, quality and accessibility of data. Although analysis of some of the large datasets can be complex, there are also accessible online tools for exploring societal data and quickly providing context to the area you work in.