This report, by the Centre for the Analysis of South African Social Policy (CASASP) at the University of Oxford, provides information on the availability of social and economic microdata resources in South Africa, which are not currently accessible to researchers. A broad definition of accessibility - or lack of access - is adopted. As
highlighted in the Review of International Data Resources and Needs, access to data depends to a certain extent on knowledge of what is actually available and where to look. This report attempts to document the main data holders and data sets that are available in South Africa, both those that are easy to access and those where access may need to be negotiated. In both cases, procedures for access are given where possible. This report will guide the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) in undertaking, for South Africa, two key recommendations from the Review, namely to ‘acquire, document and preserve national microdata resources from other countries’ and to ‘provide improved information on access procedures and increased support for researchers attempting to negotiate international access procedures’ (Desai and Cowell, 2006: 54).