Researchers awarded funding to support Ministry of Justice Data First programme

The grant, awarded to the University of Oxford for 2026–2031, will support Bachar as project lead and Ludivine as project co-lead as they work alongside the MoJ Data First team to strengthen the use and impact of linked administrative data across the justice system.

Bachar said: “Data First has created an exceptional opportunity to understand people’s experiences across the justice system through linked administrative data.

“Having worked directly with these datasets, I know both their enormous research potential and some of the challenges researchers face in using them. I’m delighted to have the opportunity to work with the Ministry of Justice, ADR UK and the wider research community to help researchers make the best possible use of these resources and ensure that the evidence generated delivers real value for policy, practice and the public.”

Ludivine said: “Data First has been a pioneering programme, opening up justice data to researchers in ways that remain rare internationally.

“The Ministry of Justice has risen up to this challenge. We now want to build on that achievement by strengthening these flagship datasets, making them easier to use, and growing a vibrant research community that can address important policy questions and realise their potential for public benefit.”

The Data First programme aims to facilitate new and innovative research using linked justice datasets, helping researchers generate evidence that can inform policy and deliver benefits for the public.

As Academic Leads, Bachar and Ludivine will act as a bridge between government and academia. They will support researchers using Data First datasets, represent the needs of the academic community, and help maximise the research potential and policy impact of the data.

Their work will include strengthening researcher capability, supporting the continuous improvement of Data First datasets and the researcher journey, building an active community of researchers, and expanding policy-relevant use of the datasets.

The Academic Leads will work particularly with three flagship datasets, including the Data First Cross-Justice System dataset, the Family Court linked to Cafcass and Census 2021 dataset, and the Ministry of Justice and Department for Education linked dataset.

The datasets are de-identified and available for accredited researchers to apply to access securely for approved public good research.

The project will also support the Data First programme to respond to emerging research questions and user needs, while helping to align research activity with justice priorities and the Ministry of Justice’s Areas of Research Interest.

The full economic cost of the award is up to £500,000, with ADR UK funding 80% of the cost.

The award builds on ADR UK’s longstanding collaboration with the Ministry of Justice through the Data First programme and will further strengthen research capacity and the use of linked administrative data to generate evidence for researchers, policymakers and the public.