Accessing BC data for academic research

For over two decades, Population Data BC (PopData) has been providing academic researchers with access to a comprehensive collection of population health data, including health services, education, workplace and environmental data. These data sets, many from 1985 forward, include longitudinal, person-specific, de-identified data on BC's 5 million residents.

Over the years we have expanded the number and range of data sets available to Researchers and recently formed partnerships with the BC Government to support the development and delivery of the The Data Innovation Program (DI Program) and the Health Data Platform BC (HDPBC).

There are currently three streams available for academic researchers to access data on the population of British Columbia: 

  • The Data Innovation Program (DI Program)
  • Population Data BC 
  • Health Data Platform BC (HDPBC)

Researchers will be routed to a data access stream based on a range of qualifying criteria which includes the data required to answer the research question and the tools required for analysis.

 

What data sets are available in which stream?

  Demographic 

Data setAvailability
DI ProgramPopDataHDPBC
BC Population Projections 2018 to 2041✓   view  
BC Vital Events and Statistics Births✓   view✓   view✓   view
BC Vital Events and Statistics Deaths✓   view✓   view✓   view
BC Vital Events and Statistics Marriages✓   view✓   view 
BC Vital Events and Statistics Stillbirths✓   view✓   view✓   view
Central Demographics File (MSP Registration and Premium Billings, Client Roster and Census Geodata)/Consolidation File✓   view✓   view 
Client Roster (CR) Snapshot  ✓   view
Population Extrapolation for Organizational Planning with Less Error (PEOPLE)  ✓   view
Registration and Premium Billings (RBP Lite)✓   view 

  Education

Data setAvailability
DI ProgramPopDataHDPBC
K to 12 Socio Economic Index (SES)✓   view  
K to 12 Student Assessments✓   view✓   view 
K to 12 Student Demographics and Achievements✓   view✓   view 
K to 12 Student Learning Surveys✓   view✓   view 

  Environment and Resources

Data setAvailability
DI ProgramPopDataHDPBC
The Canadian Urban Environmental Health Research Consortium (CANUE) ✓   view 

  Justice

Data setAvailability
DI ProgramPopDataHDPBC
Corrections - Adult Community and Custody✓   view  

  Health

Data setAvailability
DI ProgramPopDataHDPBC
BC Cancer Registry ✓   view✓   view
BC Cardiac Service Registry  ✓   view
BC Perinatal Data Registry✓   view✓   view✓   view
BC Renal  ✓   view
Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging ✓   view 
Chronic Disease Registry✓   view✓   view✓   view
CIHI Population Grouping Methodology (CPOP)  ✓   view
COVID-19 Census Hospitalizations and Critical Care Reports  ✓   view
COVID-19 Immunization Data ✓   view 
COVID-19 Test Lab Data✓   view✓   view✓   view
Discharge Abstracts Database✓   view✓   view✓   view
HealthIdeas Common and Reference Dimensions  ✓   view
HealthLink 811-COVID  ✓   view
Health System Matrix  ✓   view
Home and Community Care✓   viewview 
Home and Community Care Minimum Reporting Requirements  view
Medical Imaging Wait Times  ✓   view
Medical Services Plan (MSP)✓   view✓   view ✓   view
Mental Health Services✓   view✓   view  
National Ambulatory Care Reporting System (NACRS)✓   view✓   view✓   view
Patient-Centered Measurement (PCM)  ✓   view
Patient-Centered Measurement (PCM) - Acute Inpatient 2016-17 Survey ✓   view 
Patient-Centered Measurement (PCM) - Emergency Department Survey 2018 ✓   view 
Patient-Centered Measurement (PCM) - Long Term Care Survey ✓   view 
PharmaCare✓   view✓   view 
PharmaNet✓   view✓   view✓   view
Post-Covid Recovery Clinic  ✓   view
Provincial Immunization Registry  ✓   view
Residential Assessment Instrument✓   view✓   view✓   view
Surgical Wait Times (SWT)  ✓   view
VPP Clinical OMOP Data  ✓   view

  Social

Data setAvailability
DI ProgramPopDataHDPBC
Affordable Child Care Benefit✓   view  
BC Employment and Assistance✓   view  
BC Family Maintenance✓   view  
Canadian Index of Multiple Deprivation (CIMD)  ✓   view
Child and Youth Mental Health (CYMH✓   view  
Child Care Subsidy✓   view  
Child Welfare Program✓   view  
Community Living Programs✓   view  
Early Development Instrument✓   view✓   view 
Middle Years Development Instrument ✓   view 
Permanent Residents ✓   view 
Private Market Rent Supplements for Eligible Seniors and Working Families✓   view  
Shelter and Homeless Outreach Private Market Rent Supplements✓   view  
Supportive Housing✓   view  

  Transportation

Data setAvailability
DI ProgramPopDataHDPBC
ICBC – Contraventions✓   view  
ICBC – Crashes✓   view  
ICBC - Driver Licensing✓   view  
ICBC - Traffic Accident System (TAS)✓   view  
ICBC - Vehicle Population✓   view  

  Work and Income

Data setAvailability
DI ProgramPopDataHDPBC
Income Band ✓   view 
Income Bands - Custom✓   view  
Income Bands by Postal Code✓   view  
Labour Market Programs✓   view  
WorkSafe Claims, Injury and Firm Level files ✓   view 
Career Paths for Skilled Immigrants✓   view  
Provincial Nominee Program✓   view  
What tools are available in each stream for statistical analysis?
ToolAvailability
DI ProgramPopDataHDPBC
ArcGIS 
DataBricks  
Epi Info 
GeoDa 
Gephi 
graphViz 
JoinPoint 
MPlus 
MSOffice✓ 
MS Project 
MS Visio 
Python
R
Rstudio
Rtools
SAS✓ 
SaTScan 
SPSS 
SQL  
Stat Transfer 
Stata 
WinBUGS 

 

Can data sets be linked to external data sets (including Researcher-collected data?) 

DI Program

PopData

HDPBC

Yes. For academic and government projects, data sets are linkable to each other, and to other externally-managed data sets (including Researcher-collected data), where approved by the data provider.

Yes. Data sets are linkable to each other, and to other externally-managed data sets (including Researcher-collected data), where approved by the data provider. 

Yes. Data sets are linkable to each other, and to other externally-managed data sets (including Researcher-collected data), where approved by the data provider.

 

Are students allowed to access data?

DI Program

PopData

HDPBC

Students are not permitted to access data for their own research project. They are however, allowed to access data as a team member on an academic project.

 

Can I request a single data set or data sets from just one Government Ministry?

DI Program

PopData

HDPBC

No. Applications must involve linkage of data sets from more than one Ministry, e.g. a data set(s) from the BC Ministry of Health with a data set(s) from the BC Ministry of Education. Data sets from one Ministry are not available for request. 

Yes 

Yes

 

Can I choose/customise the variables in a data set?

DI Program

PopData

HDPBC

Variables for the entire data set are provided (sensitive variables are masked)

Core* (standard variables)
Non-Core* (sensitive variables) available by request

Core* (standard variables)
Non-Core* (sensitive variables) available by request


*Core vs. Non-Core Data

Core Data: Some BC Ministry of Health data sets available through PopData and HDPBC are called ‘Core Data’. A Core Data set is a standardized ‘bundle’ of commonly requested variables. A Core Data set may not include ALL the variables available in the data set. For example, some Core Data variables, such as geography or organisational codes, are suppressed to meet privacy legislation requirements. Non-Core Data: Non-Core Data are variables that are NOT included in the standardized Core Data set. Non-Core Data is available for request as an addition to the Core Data set.

 

For the majority of DARs, requesting access to Core Data ONLY may make the data access approval process quicker and may expedite data provision. Data requests that include Non-Core Data will be subject to regular rather than expedited processes, both for application review and data provisioning.

Are sensitive variables available?

DI Program

If excluded variables are required for the project, a special request can be submitted to the DI Program for consideration.

PopData

Sensitive variables available by request.

HDPBC

Sensitive variables available by request.

Where is the data stored for analysis?

DI Program

PopData

HDPBC

DI Program Secure Analytics Environment (SAE)

Note: The PopData Secure Research Environment (SRE) and the DI Program Secure Analytics Environment (SAE) refer to the same virtual computing workspace.

The PopData Secure Research Environment (SRE)

HDPBC Secure Environment (SE)

 

How is the data provisioned for analysis?

DI Program

PopData

HDPBC

For DI Program projects the researcher receives CSV files on the DI Program Secure Analytics Environment with standard extracts.

Note: The PopData Secure Research Environment (SRE) and the DI Program Secure Analytics Environment (SAE) refer to the same virtual computing workspace

For PopData projects the researcher receives flat ASCII files (a format that can be imported into a wide variety of software) on the PopData Secure Research Environment, with either a custom extract based on their data access request, or a standard Core extract.

For HDPBC projects the researcher accesses a relational database in its Secure Environment to create their own cohort and perform analyses.

 

Where do I go to apply for data?

DI Program

PopData

HDPBC

The DI Program. 

For further information visit the DI Program website.

PopData

PopData

 

What legislation covers the use of the data?

DI Program

PopData/HDPBC

BC Statistics Act

Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA)

 

How to get started

Step 1

Use the information above to identify the data that you need to answer your research question and the statistical tools that you require for analysis. This will determine whether your project will go through the DI Program, PopData or HDPBC stream.


Step 2


Step 3

Study the information available on the Data Access Process Request (DAR) web pages to familiarise yourself with the process and help you to plan your data access request.


Step 4

Connect with a member of PopData's Data Access Unit to confirm which stream your application will go through and next steps. For more information on the PopData and HDPBC streams, go to: PopData or HDPBC stream?

 

DARs/Projects snapshot

Total number of DARs/Projects currently with PopData:437

 

 

Last revised October 2nd, 2024

Tools and resources

We provide a range of tools and resources for researchers for use at different stages of the data access process.

more information

Need pan-Canadian data?

The Data Access Support Hub (DASH) is a one-stop data access service portal for researchers requiring multi-jurisdictional data in Canada.

> more information