Vol. 1 No. 1 (2017): Conference Proceedings for International Population Data Linkage Conference 2016
Welcome to the inaugural edition of the International Journal of Population Data Science (IJPDS). This edition has been entirely dedicated to publication of the proceedings of the International Population Data Linkage Network (IPDLN) 2016 conference.
While the potential for this new journal is varied and exciting, this focussed edition provides access to the wonderful contributions from over 300 different presenters at the conference, attended by almost 600 delegates over the three days of the event. On this occasion, this biennial conference was held in Swansea (Wales, UK) in the magnificent new facilities provided by Swansea University’s new beachside Bay Campus. Attended by delegates from over 35 countries and with presentations covering the whole gamut of specialisms and interest areas relevant to this new and evolving branch of science, the 2016 conference marked a significant step forward in the development of the IPDLN, and provided a unique opportunity to showcase the initiatives, advances and achievements of data linkage centres across the world.
The IPDLN has always had sharing best practice and building fruitful collaborations at its heart, and we believe the 2016 conference did a magnificent job in both respects. Through the publication of these proceedings, we hope that the papers given at the event will be immortalised in a way that allows them to be revisited and referred to well into the future, by being made available to a far wider audience than were able to attend the event. We hope you find the content of this issue interesting and relevant, and that it will encourage you to submit your work to the IJPDS, to become more deeply involved in this important new science, to join the IPDLN and hopefully to attend the next IPDLN conference, which will be held in Banff, Canada in 2018.
I also hope you will be a regular reader of this new journal, which under a strong editorial team, is soon to be the go-to journal for all things of importance in population data science.
With my very best wishes,
Professor David V Ford
IPDLN Director 2015 - 17
IJPDS Executive Director