All members of the research team must be an accredited researcher. To achieve accredited researcher status, the researcher must:
1a) Complete the Accredited Researcher Application through ONS. Full accredited researcher status under the Digital Economy Act 2017 is valid for five years. Provisional accredited researcher status is valid for one year.
1b) Attend Safe Researcher Training and pass the related online test. Once your accreditation application has been processed, you will be prompted to attend the online training through ONS.
2a) Obtain an AccessNI certificate (this is only necessary if the applicant plans on gaining access to the Secure Environment to conduct statistical analysis)
2b) For researchers from outside the UK, a Criminal Record Statement must be completed
For more information on the accreditation process follow the link to the ONS approved researcher page
The Secure Environment
Once the accreditation process is complete, and the project has been approved, the researcher can be granted access to the Secure Environment. This is a strictly controlled setting governed by policies, protocols and procedures to ensure data confidentiality. Researchers within the secure environment are supervised at all times by NISRA RSU staff.
A range of statistical software packages are available in the Secure Environment.
To book into the Secure Environment contact the RSU at rsu.nisra@gov.uk.
The following link contains information relating to the services provided by RSU staff in the Secure Environment: