Micro-datasets are categorized into three groups, according to the sensitivity of their content and their inherent disclosure risks: 

• Public use files
• Licensed files
• Files accessible on-site (data enclave)

Public use files

Public use files are microdata files characterized by a low disclosure risk, or by the fact that respondents gave their formal consent to the data dissemination. They are made available on-line to all interested users, for research and statistical purposes only. Users are asked to complete an on-line form and agree to abide by our terms and conditions before being provided with the data.

Licensed files

This approach involves a signed agreement between the National Data Archive and external trusted users, to permit them to access semi-anonymized data files. Licensing agreements are only entered into with bona fide users when there is an appropriate sponsoring institution or referee. Users must be able to:

• Demonstrate a need to access the data in order to fulfill a stated statistical or research purpose; and
• Comply with the conditions set forth in a formal Microdata Access Agreement.

Those interested in accessing the data under license should fill our Licensed Dataset Request Form. Requests are evaluated by a our Microdata Release Panel. When the decision is made to grant access to the data, users will receive them through secure ftp server.

Files accessible on-site (data enclave)

Where the data is particularly sensitive, access is only provided on-site in our data enclave under strict conditions, and only for research purposes. The data enclave is located in [location: agency, city, country]. The computers within the enclave are not linked to the outside world; researchers do not have email or internet access. 

Permission to access the data enclave must be submitted using our Enclave Access Request Form (which provides detailed information on conditions and rules of access). Authorized users are required to sign a formal Microdata Access Agreement. Further, the National Data Archive will scrutinise the generated outputs in a full disclosure review before they are released.