The Research Services’ data protection measures were examined in an internal audit completed in early 2024. To plan and implement the observed needs for change, a project was launched to realise changes to strengthen data protection concerning, for example, the processing of user licence applications and dataset release.
The revisions prepared in the project will be adopted in early 2026. The new application form and products will be updated in the licensing service on 1 February 2026. Statistics Finland accepts applications made on the old form template throughout February. Please observe these changes already as concerns your draft applications.
The Dataset specification form, which needs to be appended to applications starting from February, is already available on the Research Services’ pages (Instructions for researchers| Statistics Finland). We will inform about the changes to the application form separately after the holidays.
Changes to the user licence application
The changes to the application form will clarify the application for datasets. In future, the dataset controller must be reported in the application and the Dataset specification form must be appended. The valid datasets of the project are specified on this form, and the grounds for the need for each dataset from the perspective of the research are given. The Dataset specification form is used in assessing user licences to ensure that the applicant has a well-founded need for the datasets required under data protection legislation and other legislation. The necessity of a data protection impact assessment form (DPIA) as an appendix to the application has been specified. Instructions related to external datasets have also been clarified.
Changes related to ready-made datasets
In future, ready-made datasets are primarily applied for the target population defined by the researcher for limited years. Total datasets containing all observations in the ready-made dataset can still be made available when the research design so requires, but the total dataset is primarily made available for the years needed by the researcher instead of for all years. The use of total datasets for all available years will continue to be possible based on well-founded research-based needs.
A significant part of the ready-made datasets will in future be available as annual files instead of total time series files, and these will be located in new annual folders in FIONA. In future, a researcher can be granted a user licence for annual files in FIONA instead of a user licence for files for all years. This makes the distribution of annual datasets more efficient. Annual files will be created in FIONA in early winter 2026 and researchers will be informed of the details related to this separately at a later date.
In addition, the terms ready-made data subject to a one-off fee and continuously delivered ready-made data module will no longer be used concerning ready-made datasets. In future, only the term ready-made dataset will be used for ready-made datasets. Researchers are granted a user licence to the dataset limited to the target population and period of their research – a period extending into the future is also possible. The names of the ready-made datasets will in future be changed to better describe the content.
The ready-made datasets are classified according to the extent and sensitivity of the data they contain. The classification is used in processing user licences to assist with the assessment of applications and data protection risks.
Further information:
tutkijapalvelut@stat.fi
