Data Sustainability: Broad Action Areas to Develop Data Systems Strategically

There is an increasing recognition, across multiple sectors, of the importance of understanding and reporting on children’s lives. In order to ensure this can happen in a sustainable way, appropriate systems and processes must be in place. Such systems require a strategic approach to assessing data and research needs, identifying gaps in the knowledge base and setting out a detailed plan to meet those gaps. This paper focuses on meeting data gaps and reports on a broad action areas that emerged in the course of developing a national strategy for research and data on children’s lives. These areas include the collection of additional data, improving analysis, compiling administrative and service data, standardising and harmonising various measures, carrying out comparisons and strategically disseminating findings. When applied in a strategic way, these broad action areas can provide a framework for the development and sustainability of data and research. Concrete examples of individual actions are presented in this paper, highlighting, in particular, the potential for meeting data gaps by making better use of existing information, including survey and administrative data sources.