Open Science › Education › Webinar: The Role of Informed Consent in Ethical Data Collection, Sharing and Reuse

Webinar: The Role of Informed Consent in Ethical Data Collection, Sharing and Reuse

When: April 2026 30, 11:00–12:30 (CEST)
Where: online

UK Data Service is hosting an online workshop on April 30, 2026, from 11:00 to 12:30 (CEST) focusing on informed consent in the context of research involving human participants and the subsequent sharing and archiving of data. The topic is essential for anyone working with data involving people and considering its further use beyond the original research purpose.

The webinar will explore informed consent not only as a legal instrument, but also as an ethical commitment towards research participants. It will explain the distinction between the legal and ethical dimensions of consent, and highlight that although consent is often used as a legal basis for processing and sharing data, ethical responsibility does not end there.

Participants will learn how to approach informed consent in a way that ensures it is truly informed, understandable, and respectful of participants’ rights. A significant part of the workshop will also focus on practical aspects – specifically how to properly prepare consent forms and participant information sheets so that they meet the requirements for data archiving and future reuse.

The session will include concrete examples of real consent forms used in research practice, including the model consent form recommended by the UK Data Service. These examples will help situate the concepts in real-world contexts and illustrate different approaches in practice.

There will be time at the end for questions and discussion. The event will also be livestreamed on the UK Data Service YouTube channel (with chat disabled), while participation via Zoom will allow for direct interaction with the presenter. A recording of the webinar, along with the slides, will be made available afterwards on the UK Data Service website and YouTube channel.

UK Data Service is the UK’s principal repository for economic, population and social research data. It hosts one of the largest trusted digital archives of its kind in the UK and has long supported research through major datasets such as the Census, Understanding Society, and the UK Cohort Studies.

This event is part of the UK Data Service introductory training series: Spring 2026.

More information and the registration link can be found here.

Last updated on April 27, 2026