Handling historical AFiD data

Handling historical AFiD data

According to § 13a Federal Statistics Law, the identification numbers used for linking must be deleted from the data records with the survey characteristics in the economic and environmental statistics 30 years after the completion of a survey. The identification numbers of the reporting year 1995 must be removed by 31.12.2026 (subsequently one further year annually).

What does this mean for ongoing projects?

In ongoing projects that include affected reporting years, the project data records (including all extensions and links carried out up to this point) will be "frozen" at the latest by the deletion date. Extensions at the level of the identification numbers can no longer be carried out afterwards. Links at the macro level remain possible. Please contact your supervising RDC location early for the coordination of the planned procedure.

What does this currently mean for new projects that cover the reporting years 1995/1996?

When applying for new projects, there are three possible scenarios:

  • It is recommended to waive the reporting years 1995/1996, as these will be affected by deletion deadlines within the project duration. If the project starts with the reporting year 1997, extensions of the project data at the individual case level (newer reporting years, external data) are still possible during the contract period (usually 3 years). However, when extending the project, a renewed examination of the project period is required.
  • If the historical data 1995/1996, that are affected by deletion deadlines, are absolutely necessary for the project purpose, it is recommended to use exclusively "frozen" AFiD-Fix-Panel (see below). The Fix-Panel can still be linked at macro level during the project, but not at individual case level.
  • If it is not possible to dispense with the historical data from 1995/1996 but external data is also to be linked at the individual case level, a linked pseudonymised overall dataset will be created for the project once at its beginning and then immediately "frozen". Subsequent linkages at the individual case level (even before the legal deletion period has been reached) are excluded. The created project dataset can continue to be linked at the macro level, but not at the individual case level.
    Attention: The reporting year 1995 cannot be applied for regularly for projects after the course of the year 2026. From 01.01.2027, the reporting year 1995 can be used exclusively within a fixed panel.

Please contact your desired RDC location for advice and coordination of the planned procedure at an early stage.

Science-friendly solution: AFiD-Fix-Panel

The RDC have decided to create a uniformly pseudonymised AFiD-Fix-Panel each year starting with the reporting year 1995. It includes a maximum of 30 survey years and is kept decentrally by the supervising RDC locations. By creating the Fix-Panels, the legally prescribed deletion periods are observed, but the analysis potential is nevertheless retained through the linkability (both cross-sectionally across all AFiD products and longitudinally). The first Fix-Panel includes all AFiD products from the years 1995–2021. Individual products and reporting years can be selected from this as before. A later expansion to include other statistics and reporting years from the same AFiD-Fix-Panel is possible. The Fix-Panel can be linked at the macro level with external data; linkages at the individual case level are not possible. The same fees apply for the new AFiD-Fix products as for the regular AFiD products. If both "frozen" and regular AFiD products are requested for a project, they must be evaluated in separate accounts to exclude re-identification. If it is necessary to provide individual reporting years multiple times in two or more accounts, the fees for the affected reporting years will accordingly be calculated multiple times.