NEWS

New Data Access Request form – applying for data easier than ever

Applications for administrative data for research just became much easier in British Columbia thanks to a collaborative effort  ... more

Few seats still available for summer workshops

There are still a few seats available for these summer workshops in Multilevel and Hierarchical Linear Modeling (July 5-9) and An Introduction to Bayesian Disease Mapping (July 29-30)  ... more

Admin Data 101 workshop now online!

This free workshop explains the basics of what administrative data are, where they come from, how they can be used for research, what the data produced for a research project actually look like and what skills are needed to work with them ... more

ARCHIVED NEWS

Glossary of terms

Data Access Request - An application for data held at Population Data BC.  This request includes researcher and analyst information, project details, cohort details, fields and files requested, data protection plans, and supporting documents.  It is this document that is reviewed by Data Stewards.  If approved, a Research Agreement is entered into between the Public Body and researcher(s).

Data Steward - The position that is responsible for the stewardship of a Public Body’s data holdings, usually including approval of requests for access to data for research purposes.

Geomatics - The discipline of gathering, storing, processing, and delivery of geographic information, or spatially referenced information.

Identifiers - Information that identifies an individual or for which it is reasonably foreseeable in the circumstances of use that could be utilized, either alone or with other information, to identify an individual.

Information Sharing Agreement - For the purposes of Population Data BC, the agreement under the authority of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (i.e., a data contract) between the Public Body which is the steward of the data and the University of British Columbia that sets out the terms and conditions of data sharing and uses between those bodies.  The ISA also includes provisions related to security controls and data linkages to ensure legislative compliance.

Privacy Impact Assessment - A requirement under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act that provides a formal assessment of a new enactment, system, project or program to ensure compliance with Part 3 (Privacy) of the legislation.

Population Data BC Services Agreement - An agreement between the researcher and Population Data BC for cost recovery for the preparation of data for the approved Data Access Request.

Public Body - "Public Body" refers to an organizational entity, and is in contrast to private corporation or company.  FIPPA defines Public Body as:

(a) a ministry of the government of British Columbia,
(b) an agency, board, commission, corporation, office or other body designated in, or added by regulation to, Schedule 2 of FIPPA, or
(c) a local public body
but does not include
(d) the office of a person who is a member or officer of the Legislative Assembly, or
(e)the Court of Appeal, Supreme Court or Provincial Court.

Research Agreement - An agreement between a researcher and the Public Body responsible for the data that sets out the terms and conditions of access to information for research purposes, including specific conditions on use, disclosure, retention, and final disposition of the data  pursuant to FIPPA section 35.

Research Extract - Data that are extracted and prepared by Population Data BC for the purpose of disclosure to a researcher for an approved research project.  This requires the existence of an approved Research Agreement.

Secure Research Environment - A computer server for the storage of and secure remote access to approved Research Extracts, for purposes of data analysis. 

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