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- BLOG - Access to secure data during the Covid-19 pandemic - a model for the future?
- Covid-19 and Care Homes: Advances in Administrative Data Research during the pandemic
- DATA INSIGHTS -Deprivation and informal care at the end of life
- BLOG - Reflections on engaging with children & young people about data
- NEWS - Innovative new residential linkage tool launched
- BLOG SERIES - Dramatic increase in deaths at home- No.4
- DATA INSIGHTS - Youth Movements, Social Mobility and Health Inequalities
- NEWS - New report warns of deepening poverty crisis for Scottish families
- New report on Infants Born into Care in Scotland
- Spotlight on Dr Elizabeth Lemmon
- Spotlight on Jan Savinc
- BLOG - Covid-19 fines in Scotland: What we know so far
- BLOG - The value of social science and administrative data research in Scotland: how we are helping respond to COVID-19
- NEWS - Joining together with Research Data Scotland to co-host existing public panel on data
- DATA INSIGHTS - Exploring illegal drug consignments in Scotland
- DATA INSIGHTS -Linking two administrative data sets about looked after children
- NEWS - ADR UK grants 20 PhD studentship opportunities focused on quantitative research using linked administrative data
- NEWS – ADR Scotland data ambassadors launched
- Spotlight on Peter Christen
- The importance of administrative data
- Virtual Conference - Data Linkage: Information to Impact
- An Introduction to Data Science for Administrative Data Research course - March 2023
- BLOG SERIES - Dramatic increase in deaths at home - No.7
- BLOG SERIES - Dramatic increase in deaths at home
- BLOG SERIES - Dramatic increase in deaths at home- No.3
- DATA INSIGHTS - Investigating the effects of class composition and class size on pupils’ attainment in Scottish primary schools
- NEWS - New opportunity to join ADR Scotland’s Public Panel
- BLOG - Engaging the public through our public panel
- BLOG - Exploring the potential of synthetic data
- Children’s Health in Care in Scotland (CHiCS)
- DATA INSIGHTS - Automatic Coding of Occupations: Methods to create the Scottish Historic Population Database (SHPD)
- DATA INSIGHTS - Selective schools: do they improve health?
- DATA INSIGHTS - Were people who died at home less likely to attend hospital at the end of life during the Covid pandemic?
- EVENT - Active Travel: New Data, New Insights
- EVENT - Holyrood Evidence Week: Doing Data Better for Policy and Public Good
- EVENT - Unlocking criminal justice data in Scotland: Findings from Data First
- IPDLN Conference - Data linkage research: informing policy and practice
- NEWS - Making nursing data available to inform policy
- NEWS - New report on The Impact of Covid-19 on Children’s Care Journeys in Scotland: An Analysis of the Administrative Data on 'Looked After' Children
- NEWS - Updated report on Infants Born into Care in Scotland
- Scout and Guide participation boosts later life health
- BLOG - Geospatial Ambitions
- BLOG - Taking historical death records and developing a database for future analysis
- BLOG - Unlocking criminal justice data
- DATA INSIGHTS - Community mortality due to Covid-19
- DATA INSIGHTS - What makes people more likely to cycle to work?
- Future-proofing investment into administrative data research announced in Scotland
- NEWS - Understanding the dynamics of the nursing workforce: the potential of routinely collected data
- Spotlight on Joanna Soraghan
- Spotlight on Katherine Falconer
- Why misconceptions about population data can lead to bad outcomes
- ADR Scotland publishes its strategy for 2022-2026
- BLOG - Developing and re-shaping our public panel
- BLOG - Review of the recent DWP Areas of Research Interest Workshop
- BLOG: Developing a cross-national research agenda on crime and convictions
- BLOG: Working together to make a difference with data
- DATA INSIGHTS - Homelessness duration in Scotland: how long does rehousing take?
- DATA INSIGHTS - Occupation and COVID-19 deaths: Scotland in a comparative perspective
- DATA INSIGHTS -The health and economic benefits of active commuting in Scotland
- EVENT - ADR UK Conference 2023
- EVENT - RSE The secret world of data
- NEWS - New comic on children's rights and data
- NEWS - Report published on our children’s engagement pilot study
- NEWS - When did fines issued by the police for breaking Covid rules peak?
- Scotland’s portfolios: Research and Statistical Data - building a new approach to thematic data linkage
- Spotlight on Cecilia Macintyre
- Spotlight on Dr Evan Williams
- Spotlight on Fernando Pantoja
- Spotlight on Laurie Berrie
- ADR Scotland Winter Partnership Session - **internal event**
- BLOG - AGEING AND HOMELESSNESS IN SCOTLAND
- BLOG - Can we use linked administrative data to identify social disadvantage?
- BLOG - Commuting and its impact on health
- BLOG - The Dynamics of the Nursing Workforce in the UK: Using data to support our nurses
- BLOG: Growing up in kinship care
- Congratulations to Alastair McAlpine, the new Chief Statistician for Scottish Government
- DATA INSIGHTS - Analysing a season of death and excess mortality in Scotland’s past
- EVENT - ADR UK Virtual Half Day event
- EVENT - HDR UK Conference: Data for global health and society
- EVENT - Introduction to Data Science for Administrative Data Research course (IDS-ADR)
- Event - Public data for public good: towards better understanding children's lives
- NEWS - ADR Scotland's first flagship dataset
- NEWS - Data research initiative secures £90 m funding extension
- NEWS: Our role supporting the new Covid-19 research data service in Scotland
- Spotlight on Gina Anghelescu
- Spotlight on Michelle K Jamieson
- Webinar - An Introduction to Looked-After Children Dataset
- ADR Scotland Away Day (**for staff only**)
- BLOG - An Inside Job: Using Criminology, Police Data and a Lot of Nouse
- BLOG - Improving justice data to promote data justice in Scotland
- BLOG - Location of death in 2020: a changing trend from hospitals to homes
- BLOG - Reflecting on the ADR UK Conference: Insights from our new PhD Researchers
- BLOG - Seeking feedback on Research Data Scotland’s core principles via our public panel
- BLOG - What skills, training and support are required by those wishing a career as an administrative data researcher?
- BLOG No. 9 - Final blog in this 'deaths at home' series
- BLOG SERIES - Dramatic increase in deaths at home - No. 6
- BLOG SERIES - Dramatic increase in deaths at home - No.8
- BLOG SERIES - Dramatic increase in deaths at home- No.5
- BLOG: 5 things I've learnt about working with policymakers...
- BLOG: Automating Coding for Large Historical Datasets
- BLOG: COVID-19- How increased deaths at home impact the carer community
- DATA INSIGHTS -Postal deliveries of drugs in Scotland
- EVENT - 'Getting things done with data in government'
- EVENT - Linking public sector data for research: an ADR UK showcase event
- EVENT Seminar - Administrative data for social policy research: potential and pitfalls
- NEWS - ADR Scotland launches new podcast series
- NEWS - Additional funding for Understanding Children’s Lives and Outcomes
- NEWS - Engaging children and young people
- NEWS: Police use of Fixed Penalty Notices under the Covid-19 regulations in Scotland: A new data report highlights links with deprivation and inequality
- NEWS: Police use of the new Covid-19 powers: Using administrative data to analyse and evaluate practice
- Research Data Scotland - New user forum
- Spotlight on Dr Patricio Troncoso
- Spotlight on Renata Samulnik
- Summary of ADR Scotland Winter Partnership session
- Directorship of the International Population Data Linkage Network (IPDLN) for 2021-22.
- BLOG: In the light of experience: InterRAI and the final thousand days of life
- Multiple health conditions and social care
- NEWS - Susan McVie elected as Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences
- SCADR relocates to the Bayes Centre
- EVENT: Four day introduction to using administrative data for social and health research
- BLOG: The value of administrative data: DALYs and the Scottish Burden of Disease study
- BLOG: Where to start with parliamentary and policy engagement
- EVENT - International Conference on Administrative Data Research, Cardiff
- EVENT - Using data to realise the potential of the 'Last 1000 days'
- EVENT: TalkingData: ADR Scotland mini-summit
- EVENT: “Let’s use data to save time, money and lives”: ADR Scotland partners gather for mini-summit
- EVENTS: ADR Scotland researchers present at international conference in Cardiff
Spotlight on Katherine Falconer
We hear from Katherine Falconer about life working as both Head of the Data for Research Unit, Scottish Government and Executive Programme Manager, ADR Scotland.
Katherine joined the ADR Scotland team in January 2022. Previously she worked for 5 years at Registers of Scotland (RoS), building up the statistics and analytical function then latterly working on a range of strategic improvement projects on corporate planning and performance management. Before RoS, Katherine worked in the Scottish Government in a range of roles spanning policy and analytical work, having joined in 2001 as an economics adviser.
We asked Katherine the following questions to get an insight into her career, her role and her areas of focus over the next year.
Why did you decide on a career in data?
I definitely hadn’t planned out a clear career path at the outset and for me it was more about growing into the area over time, given an analytical outlook and a growing interest in the power of data to improve decision-making for policy-making. Following a PhD in environmental economics at the University of Cambridge, I worked at the University of Newcastle for a few years before deciding that an academic career wasn’t for me. I moved to Scottish Natural Heritage as an economist advising on a range of things around land use policy, before joining Scottish Government as an economic adviser in Environment & Rural Affairs. Subsequently I took up opportunities to move into policy roles in portfolios including education and transport, which allowed me to really understand customer perspectives on developing and using analysis and evidence.
Please tell us more about your job
I’m responsible for delivery on the Scottish Government grant agreement with ADR UK / ESRC, so have oversight of work across the teams in the Data for Research Unit around data discovery, acquisition and researcher engagement, as well as central functions around programme management, communications and information governance. My role includes supporting Ally McAlpine as the new SG interim Chief Statistician and ADR Scotland co-director to develop strategic thinking around the programme. Essential to this is work with SCADR and the other core organisations supporting delivery within ADR Scotland, to ensure clarity, coherency and really productive partnership working for this investment phase.
Over the next year, I’m going to focus on:
- Ensuring effective programme delivery planning and monitoring our progress and opportunities to add as much value as possible
- Building up our capacity and capability after a period of churn and vacancies
- Working with SCADR and delivery partners, as well as the analytical leadership community within Scottish Government, to develop real momentum around building up linkable data assets for innovative research use
- Developing the strategic direction especially with Research Data Scotland now up and running with its transformational aims for the data access and usage landscape.
What is a typical day and what are some of the challenges you face?
Unsurprisingly there is no such thing as a typical day! Talking and collaborating with people is a central part however of every day. There are plenty of regular meetings with unit colleagues as well as with wider colleagues across the partnership and elsewhere in Scottish Government, for programme and people management and development. The role involves lots of planning and making connections which I thoroughly enjoy.
In terms of challenges, I’m very much on the learning curve still and have been taking opportunities wherever I can to find out more. Particularly, I’m working to develop better understanding of the complex landscape in which we all work, contribute to problem-solving (particularly resourcing, as a perennial issue) and spotting opportunities to add value. Horizon-scanning is really important. At this still early stage, building relationships for productive collaborative working is key, given the number of new people jooining and how the wider data access system is evolving now.
What do you like most about your job?
It’s great to have an opportunity to contribute to the really important agenda around unlocking administrative data for it to be used better to improve people’s everyday lives. There’s huge potential for good data linkage research to create new insights for public-sector decision-making, and lots of inspiring ideas for us collectively to act on. I’m particularly excited by the possibilities around geospatial data. I really enjoy the strategic aspects of my role, and also developing a really good team of people to deliver on the vision here. I re-joined Scottish Government whilst everyone was home-based still, and now that we’re getting back to more normal working, it’s great to see people face-to-face in Victoria Quay, the Bayes Centre and elsewhere.
Tell us some facts we didn’t know about you
I grew up in the south of England, in a small-ish town in Hertfordshire. I then moved steadily northwards, and have been living in Edinburgh since 2000.
When I’m not working, I love being outdoors - hillwalking, cycling, outdoor swimming, skiing, gardening etc. I also dabble in orienteering, although I am probably better on the organisational / coaching side of things rather than being let loose in the forest. I really do like maps though! During lockdown, with a bit more time on my hands, I enjoyed getting to grips with some mapping-related software tools and using these to develop orienteering courses for local club runners – particularly using an app that had GPS functionality to allow tracking and a bit of competition between users in the absence of actual events and races. If I’m indoors, I like cooking, reading and films.
This article was published on 30 May 2022