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    Terminate, lock or merge projects

    It is possible to terminate, lock and merge projects. Read more about the different options and how to do this in practice.

    Terminate a project

    A project can be terminated when it has been completed and you do not need to resume it or access its data again. When you terminate a project, the project's data and files are deleted from the server. Once a project has been deleted, it is not possible to restore the data or files.

    An Administrator has authorization to terminate a project. Terminate a project by editing and approving the project's end date in the DDP App:

    1. Go to the relevant project in the DDP App.
    2. Click the three vertical dots next to the project title and select Edit project.
    3. Enter the end date (e.g. 31 November 2026) and click End date approved. Finish by clicking Save.

    After the project's end date, the project is deleted. The project has the status Archived in the DDP App for up to six weeks after the end date. It then changes to Deleted.

    Lock a project

    Locking a project may be relevant if the project will not be used for an extended period but must be retained because there may later be a need to resume the work or for peer review purposes. When a project is locked, you cannot access data or files on the Researcher Machine, and it is not possible to work on the project.

    An Administrator or the project's Contact person must email Statistics Denmark's Project owner with the following information:

    • Project number and project title
    • Confirmation that the project is to be locked and that you understand that you cannot access data or files or work on the project while it is locked.

    To have the project unlocked, an Administrator or the project's Contact person must email Statistics Denmark's Project owner and request this. 

    Merge projects

    Merging projects may be relevant if you wish to broaden existing projects. There may also be a financial advantage, as after the transition to the new pricing model, you pay for data packages and project accesses per project.

    1. Contact Denmark's Data Portal
      • Contact Statistics Denmark's Project owner for one of the projects you wish to merge and specify which projects you wish to combine.
      • Denmark's Data Portal will assess whether the projects should be combined in a new project or under an existing project, with an expanded project description.
    2. Create a new project proposal or revise an existing project proposal
      • The project description must include a purpose, description and Importance to society that cover the projects to be merged. Keep the purpose broad so that it can cover several relevant aspects of a topic and the project can be expanded with new data as it progresses.
      • Select the relevant data in the DDP App and add external data sources and, where relevant, discontinued data from our databank of basic data registers with with accompanying documentation. Paths to external data must be sent by email to Statistics Denmark's Project owner for the project.
      • Ensure that you obtain and submit all necessary approvals from external data providers. This is a prerequisite that must be met before we can move the data.
      • If one of the projects contains the Danish National Prescription Registry (LMDB) or external data from the Danish Health Data Authority, you must apply for renewed approval to transfer the data to the new project.
      • Please note that LMDB and the The Danish National Prescription Registry (LSR) cannot be ordered for the same project.
    3. Submit the project proposal
      • Once the project proposal has been submitted, Statistics Denmark's Project owner will send a price contract based on a framework agreement. The framework agreement covers processing the project proposal, re-delivery of data from our databank of basic data, processing of external data and, where relevant, discontinued registers, as well as the transfer of files and programs from the workdata folder.
    4. Approval, delivery and completion
      • You agree a deletion date for the old projects with Statistics Denmark's Project owner.
      • Denmark’s Data Portal and the signatory at your institution sign the new project.
      • If files from the workdata folder need to be transfered, you must email Statistics Denmark's Project owner with the paths to both the old folders/files and the new project. In the email, you must confirm that the files do not contain microdata (e.g. key variables or other identifiable information).
      • Denmark's Data Portal delivers the data from our bank of basic data, external data and transfers the contents from the workdata folders to the new project.

    Important points of attention

    • In rare cases, users may have hard-coded de-identified values. These cannot be retrieved after merging as a new key will be applied.
    • The same applies if de-identified values have been used to remove outliers.
    • Sorting will change, as data is sorted by de-identified values. If row numbers have been used in programs (e.g., for random selection), these will no longer work.