About The Link Lab.
The Link Lab creates games, learning resources and participatory experiences that help people understand how data is connected, how it is used, and what it means for individuals and society.
Our purpose.
The Link Lab exists to improve education and public engagement around data linkage, data infrastructure and responsible data use. We believe that the systems connecting data about people should be understandable — not just to specialists, but to the communities they affect.
We work with researchers, educators, policymakers and the public to create learning experiences that are grounded in evidence, designed for accessibility and built to last.
How We Work
1
Transparency first
We explain what data linkage is, how it works, and what it means for real people.
2
Access over jargon
Complex ideas don’t need complex language. We work hard to find the clearest path.
3
Community-centred
The communities most affected by data decisions should have the loudest voice in shaping them.
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Rigorous and honest
We don’t oversimplify. We respect the complexity — we just make it navigable.
5
Reinvested purpose
As a CIC, any surplus goes back into educational resources, research and community engagement.
Community benefit and CIC status.
The Link Lab is a registered Community Interest Company. That means our work is legally required to benefit the community, not private shareholders. Surpluses are reinvested into educational resources, public engagement, widening participation and community-benefit activities.
The Link Lab is a Community Interest Company registered in England and Wales. It is not a charity.
Our approach to learning.
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Game-based learning
Games create safe spaces to make decisions, encounter consequences and discuss disagreement — without the stakes of real-world failure.
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Participatory design
We design with communities, not just for them. Learning resources are shaped by the people who will use them.
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Evidence-informed practice
Our content is grounded in data science, statistics and social research — accessible in language, rigorous in substance.
Commitment to equity and responsible data use.
Data linkage does not affect everyone equally. Gaps, errors and biases in linked datasets can have disproportionate consequences for already-marginalised groups. The Link Lab keeps equity at the centre of everything we create.
We are committed to responsible data use in our own work — handling personal and organisational information with care, transparency and proportionality.
Our learning materials actively address the social dimensions of data linkage: who benefits, who bears risk, and how public trust is built or eroded.
UK and international scope.
The Link Lab is based in the United Kingdom, where data linkage has a long history in health, social care and public services research. Our work reflects that context — but the questions we explore are not unique to the UK.
We design resources that can travel. Our game-based and facilitated learning materials are intended to be adaptable for different national contexts, data systems and policy environments.
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UK-based
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Internationally applicable
Who we are.
The Link Lab was founded to address a gap: the technical, ethical and social dimensions of data linkage are widely discussed in specialist circles, but rarely made accessible to the people most affected by them.
Dr Jo Lam — Founder & Director
Dr Jo Lam holds a PhD in Health Data Science and Statistics from University College London. He founded The Link Lab to bring rigorous, accessible education about data linkage to researchers, policymakers, educators and the public.
