Details

The Businessbusiness data use and productivity study explores data use in individual UK businesses and at the economy-wide level, to better understand the data-related activities and attitudes towards data that promote higher productivity and growth. 

The study is based on a survey that asks businesses about the amount of money and time they invest in data assets, in addition to their data-related skills and activities. We use this data to estimate the potential impact this might have on productivity on the UK economy. 

The study is based on telephone interviews and online surveys of UK businesses. The multi-year study began in 2022/232022/23, andwith participantsa werefollow-up askedsurvey ifconducted theyin 2024/25. Participants who were willing to take part in future waves ofmay thealso surveybe ininvited 2024/25to andtake 2026/27.  part in 2026/2027.

This is the secondthird wave of the survey. Ipsos has been commissioned to carry out the survey fieldwork which takes place from NovemberOctober 20242026 to MarchFebruary 2025. 2027 . 

During this period some organisations will be called by an Ipsos interviewer from their Edinburgh office (an 0131 number)number)  inviting them to take part. You may also receive an email to let you know Ipsos has called and inviting you to reply. You may be offered the option of completing the survey online and, if so, you will receive the survey link via email from Ipsos - UK-PA-DSIT-DataUse-Productivity@ipsos.comDCMSDataUse@ipsosresearch.com 

How participant’s survey responses supported wavewaves 1 1 and 2

The first wavetwo waves of this study used participants’ data to estimate the current level of data investment in the UK economy. ItThey also explored the potential impact on productivity of a larger and more advanced data market. 

Key findings 

• To achieve the greatest benefit from data, businesses need to not only purchase and invest in data, but also develop and invest in the advancedtools, analytical toolscapabilities and skills needed to transform these data into more valuable finalproducts products and services. 

• Investments in data, and other intangible assets such as intellectual property, could makehelp businesses andinnovate, theimprove economyproductivity more resilient and betterstrengthen at recovering from economic downturns resilience. 

• For data to bring the mostgreatest benefit to the wholeeconomy, economyinvestment requiresis investmentneeded in both data capitalassets and the skills required to enhancemake theeffective maturityuse of the ‘data-driven’ sector of the economy them.

• The greatest economic benefits from data come when it is shared or moremade available to the right businesses and organisations, but similarlyconcerns toabout intellectualresources, propertycapability rights,and individualcompetitive businessesadvantage oftencan dolimit notdata sharesharing asand muchuse.

• Businesses asinvest theyincreasingly could,in potentiallydata, duemostly tothrough fearin-house creation of losingdata theirassets competitiveData edge investment in the UK, 2024

If you’re interested in reading more about the findings you can findread the full reportreports herefor wave 1 and wave 2. 

Who is being invited to take part? 

Participation in the study is voluntary. Businesses across the UK have been selected at random, from the Market Location Database, whilst ensuring a spread across different sectors and numbers of employees. The Market Location Database is a list of UK businesses maintained by Market Location for commercial purposes. This information is provided to us by Market Location, so please see their privacy notice for details. details.  

Some respondents from the 1stfirst waveand second waves of the survey said they could be contacted about participating in future waves and Ipsos will also be reaching out to these businesses. 

How does your participation in wave 23 help? 

Through your participation you can help us understand: 

• what benefit data can bring to businesses 

• what tools and skills are most important in transforming these data into final products 

• how the use of data in an individual business can help benefit the whole economy 

Who is conducting the survey? 

Ipsos is carrying out the survey on behalf of the Department offor Science,Digital, InnovationCulture, Media and TechnologySport (DSITDCMS). 

Ipsos is a well-known survey organisation in the UK. It carries out research studies in the areas of social and public policy, covering topics such as sport, culture, health, science, education, crime and employment.  

More information about Ipsos. 

Contacts 

To contact Ipsos about the survey, please find the relevant contact details below 

Telephone: 0800 298 0841
Email: UK-PA-DSIT-DataUse-Productivity@ipsos.comDCMSDataUse@ipsosresearch.com   

Data protection and privacy notice 

For general information on how DSITDCMS handles personal data, please read DSITDCMS’s personal information charter. 

More detailed information about how your personal data is processed, as well as your rights under the data protection legislation, is available in the privacy notice in the documents section at the top of this page. 

For any data protection queries please contact the DSITDCMS Data Protection Officer: dataprotection@dsit.gov.ukdpo@dcms.gov.uk. 

Please visit the Ipsos website to access the Ipsos privacy notice for the survey. 

The Information Commissioner’s Office has produced a guide to your rights. If you are not happy with the way we are processing your data, you have the right to lodge a complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office about our practices, or you can call their helpline on 0303 123 1113. 

Enquiries 

For general queries about the questionnaire and survey outputs, please contact the Data Policy Analysis team at DSITDCMS: ukbusinessdatasurvey@dsit.gov.uk