Frequently Asked Questions

ICES Data & Analytic Services (DAS) provides:

• a) Access to research-ready linked health administrative data and analytic tools through secure virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) over the internet,
• b) Support and advice on health administrative dataset creation, and
• c) Analytics and reports based on ICES data.

To learn more about ICES, visit the ICES Frequently Asked Questions page

Since March 2014, public sector researchers, students, policy makers and other knowledge users can access the full range of DAS services. Beginning June 2016, private sector researchers can make use of analytic services provided by DAS. See DAS FAQs 14-30 for additional information about DAS for private sector researchers.

DAS was launched in March 2014 as a core element of the Ontario SPOR SUPPORT Unit (OSSU). The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care (MOHLTC) and the Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation (MRI) have partnered to fund the OSSU as part of Canada's Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research (SPOR). To learn more about SPOR and SPOR SUPPORT Units, visit CIHR’s SPOR page.

DAS provides public sector researchers with access to research-ready linked datasets constructed to support the testing of specific hypotheses. These are datasets that have had identifying information removed or coded using an algorithm that preserves privacy while providing individual-level information that researchers need to study specific research questions. DAS datasets are less detailed than the data that are accessed routinely at ICES centres, which means that researchers can work with the data from their own office computers through a secure virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) over the internet. DAS datasets do not leave ICES’ protected environment.

ICES provides public sector researchers with datasets that have been cut specifically for their study. DAS staff work with researchers to design a dataset creation plan that supports the research objectives. Identifying information is removed or coded within ICES before the dataset is loaded to ICES’ secure online environment where it is accessible to the research team. Access to this environment, known as ICES Data and Analytic Services Environment or IDAVE, is subject to agreements to uphold security. This includes an acknowledgement that data must remain on IDAVE at all times. Results from analyses of individual level data are vetted for re-identification risk by DAS staff, before they are released to the public sector researcher.

If you are a publicly-funded, not-for-profit researcher, student, policy maker or knowledge user who wants to obtain and analyze ICES data to answer a research question, you may submit a request to das@ices.on.ca. DAS staff will contact you to determine the feasibility, timelines and cost to access the requested data.

Find out more about the data access process
Complete the pdf form to submit a request to access data for research.

Presently, researchers and their analysts using IDAVE have access to the following statistical packages: SAS v9.3, R, and Stata. Microsoft Office applications such as Excel and Word are available to prepare output files. ICES is currently evaluating the feasibility of increasing the suite of applications that is available to users. If a researcher's project requires access to a specialized analytic package, they may submit a request to DAS staff, and ICES will work with the researcher to examine the feasibility of the request.

DAS can also provide analytic services and/or reports based on analysis of ICES data for public sector knowledge users. For example, as part of the MOHLTC Applied Health Research Question (AHRQ) process, knowledge users from across the Ontario health system can propose questions for ICES consideration and possible response.

Send an email to das@ices.on.ca to find out more about requesting general analytic services and reports
Find out more about the AHRQ process
Submit an AHRQ request (Word)

The OSSU, which is the funder of DAS, is half federally and half provincially funded. Historically ICES has recovered direct infrastructure costs by charging a mark-up on all data requests. This covers the costs of maintaining datasets, as well as the privacy and security costs associated with individual projects. Under the OSSU these direct infrastructure costs for Ontario researchers are paid for with SPOR funding.

Generally, public sector researchers work with ICES data in the form of research-ready datasets; however, access to large datasets can be provided in response to special requests. For example, a qualified researcher could request access to a large ICES dataset to be used as a foundation for data mining exercises or to support machine learning. These and other requests should be discussed with a member of the DAS staff. In some cases, these requests may be best served by ICES satellites.

Research-ready datasets prepared to address specific research questions are the best way to ensure that researchers have access to data to perform scientifically rigorous studies while preserving the privacy of individuals.

No, the opportunity to access research-ready datasets from their desks may prompt some public sector researchers to expand the ways that they work with ICES to include DAS, but traditional ICES work and processes will continue.

Beginning June 2016, DAS will provide analytic services to private sector researchers. See DAS FAQ 29 for the process to submit a request for DAS private sector analytic services.

No. Private sector organizations will only see results reports that include statistics such as the total number of people that are identified as having a condition in Ontario in a specific time period, the number of hospitalizations associated with that condition, etc. DAS staff and scientists will perform the analyses that generate results reports for private sector researchers.

There are three principles that guide DAS work with the private sector:

• Alignment with the ICES mission, vision and values – DAS private sector work must provide a public benefit
• Transparency – full results reports, the identities of private sector organizations that use DAS analytic services, and dataset creation plans will all be publicly available
• Private sector work must be in addition to, and in no way detracting from, ICES research institute work – this includes the requirement that work with the private sector is financially viable.

ICES’ Board of Directors and management team are committed to making data accessible so that it can be used to support new discoveries. Factors that prompted ICES to explore providing DAS for private sector researchers included:

• Alignment with the Government of Ontario’s Open Data initiative and other national and international initiatives aimed at increasing access to data to maximize the health and economic impacts of public data holdings
• In the same way that the ICES data platform creates knowledge that informs public sector health care investments, the ICES data platform has the potential to create knowledge that informs the approximately 30% of health care expenditures that are privately-funded
• ICES’ decision was informed by the experiences of similar organizations, in Canada and internationally, that are already providing services for the private sector.

Work with ICES data by public and private sector researchers is permitted equally under PHIPA. To learn more about ICES and PHIPA visit the ICES Frequently Asked Questions page.

All DAS research studies, public or private sector, require the approval of a Research Ethics Board. Approval may come from a university or hospital-based Research Ethics Board, or from a Research Ethics Board that has been accredited by the Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs Inc. (AAHRPP). Additionally, ICES reserves the right to reject studies that are not aligned with ICES’ mission, vision and values.

Several private sector organizations have expressed interest in using DAS analytic services for studies that determine the overall health service utilization and costs for a group of people that have a certain condition compared to the overall health service utilization and costs for a group of people who are as similar as possible except that they do not have the condition. Companies use those kinds of statistics in submissions that they make to governments and government-funded agencies. Previously, the submissions that these companies have made to the Ontario government and its agencies have been based mostly on data from other provinces or countries. Private sector organizations have also expressed interest in studies that would provide statistics about the real-world effectiveness of a drug or medical device after the product has been launched. These examples, and all research studies performed through DAS analytic services, would require Research Ethics Board approval (see DAS FAQ 19).

DAS would NOT provide analytic services for a study performed primarily or solely for commercial purposes. For example, DAS staff would NOT perform a market research study designed to identify the sites in Ontario that have the lowest rates of usage of a specific pharmaceutical product or medical device.

At the time that a private sector project obtains Research Ethics Board approval, the name of the study, private sector organization name and research question(s) will be posted on the ICES public website. This is similar to the process used when clinical trials registries publicize information about upcoming clinical trials. One year after the study is completed, or when the private sector organization publishes the study findings (whichever comes first), the full results report and dataset creation plan(s) will be added to the study information on the ICES public website. Governments and government funded agencies will have the opportunity to request results reports and other details from ICES before they are posted on the ICES public website; the private sector researcher organization would be notified if/when information is provided by ICES to the government or government-funded agency.

In 2015, ICES initiated a pilot project which involved both access to data and analytic services for private sector researchers. Based on an evaluation of the pilot project results, and input obtained from stakeholders including focus groups with members of the general public, in this next phase of work ICES will provide analytic services for private sector researchers, but not access to data. The experience that is gained delivering DAS analytic services for the private sector beginning in June 2016, combined with findings from additional sessions with the public and information about service delivery options, will be used to determine ICES’ long-term approach to work with private sector researchers.

The private sector researcher/research team is responsible for all the decisions about the research question(s) and study design. DAS staff will provide advice about available DAS data holdings (including advice about the limitations of data holdings) and, if requested, will provide advice on options that reflect accepted approaches for working with administrative data, e.g., common approaches to establishing a matched cohort. If, upon receiving results, a government or government-funded agency has questions about the choice of research question(s) and/or study design, ICES will direct them to the (non-ICES) contact person that has been specified by the private sector organization.

Research Ethics Boards require that research teams are qualified to perform the research studies that they submit. In some cases, this may mean that a private sector organization needs to include an external scientist as part of their DAS study research team. Private sector organizations seeking to bring in services from external scientists for their DAS studies should note that ICES scientists are prohibited from working with industry on studies that use ICES data. See also DAS FAQ 26.

To ensure ICES’ independent status, ICES has established a policy that prohibits ICES scientists from receiving industry funding for studies based on ICES data. No changes to that policy are planned at this time. ICES as a corporate entity has the ability to manage or avoid risks that individual scientists could not, in practical terms, address or manage on their own.

The fee for private sector services will be higher than the amount paid by public sector researchers. Public sector researchers using DAS pay only the direct cost of services; they do not pay the direct infrastructure costs or the underlying indirect foundational infrastructure costs (e.g., the cost to purchase servers and other hardware, the cost to bring in and integrate new datasets with the ICES data platform). Each private sector organization will be provided with an estimate of the cost for their study. Work will not be initiated by DAS staff until the quote is formally accepted and an agreement has been signed. The fee for many DAS private sector projects will be in the range of $70,000 to $100,000. In cases where a research team wants to link an external dataset (e.g., a clinical trials dataset) so that it can be enhanced with information from the ICES data platform, there will be additional costs for the work to perform the custom linkage.

The amount of time it takes to perform DAS analytic services will vary depending on the study. In the pilot studies, results reports were provided within two months of the date of finalization of the dataset creation plan.

All of the decisions about the design and scientific direction of projects are the sole responsibility of the private sector researcher/research team. ICES will therefore not meet the criteria for authorship and will not be listed on any publications that result from private sector projects.

Upon confirming the feasibility of a private sector project, ICES DAS will issue a Service Agreement for signature by the private sector researcher/research team. This Agreement will outline the terms and conditions for provision and estimated cost of the services.

Negotiation of the agreement can sometimes take a significant amount of time. A copy of the DAS Private Sector Service Agreement template may be requested in advance by contacting DAS.PrivateSector@ices.on.ca.

Requests will be processed in the order of the date/time that they are received by DAS staff via email. To place a private sector request for DAS analytic services please download the ICES DAS Private Sector Analytic Services Request Form (PDF). The completed form should be submitted via email to das.privatesector@ices.on.ca. See an overview of the process and documents for DAS Private Sector Studies.

The process for requesting DAS private sector analytic services may change in the future, once we have gathered some experience from addressing the initial submissions.

When determining their study and research question(s), requestors should note that only studies approved by an Ontario-based Research Ethics Board will be performed under DAS (see DAS FAQs 19 and 20) and that ICES reserves the right to refuse requests that are not aligned with ICES’ mission, vision and values.

Please send an email to das@ices.on.ca and ICES will identify the best person to provide a response. If a new question arises, please check back to review this page before contacting ICES. The content of these FAQs will be updated as questions are received by DAS staff.