When uploading UK addresses into a Bunker, InfoSum’s normalization engine creates a unique key per address that can be used for collaborating with partner’s Bunkers at query time. This key is called the UDPRN. UDPRN is a standardized identifier introduced by the Post Office in 2004 that identifies a single address. Therefore it can be used as a household identifier and for collaborating in the InfoSum platform.

When bringing UK addresses into the InfoSum platform, there are some specific methods of handling the data you should note during the normalization stage.

1. Always provide address in a raw format
   During normalization, InfoSum will require the raw address to create the UDPRN. Therefore you must upload the address in its raw form.
2. All address fields should be separate columns
   The way the InfoSum normalization engine produces a UDPRN is by taking as an input the house number, street name and postcode. The combination of these three fields is then looked up against a database provided by the Post Office and returns the UDPRN. Therefore, you must ensure each of these three fields (as a minimum) are contained in their data as separate columns.
   
   
3. The UI will automatically map columns to the global schema if it recognises them
   When the InfoSum platform recognises a column by its name as an address field, it will automatically map that column to the “Address” global schema field. This can be identified for each column by the gray ‘pencil’ icon next to the dropdown box under the “Mapping to global schema” title. If any address columns are not automatically mapped, the ‘pencil’ icon will be blue. To correct this, you simply click the ‘pencil’ icon turning it gray and select “Address” from the dropdown menu.
   
   
4. Postcode needs an additional mapping
   The postcode column will need an additional mapping. This can be done by the second dropdown menu box. For the postcode column, you must ensure the “Additional mapping/ config” value is set to “Postcode” for the UDPRN to be generated.
   
5. Even if the address fields are to be used as a key, don’t worry if the key toggle isn’t selected
   During the normalization config stage, you must ensure any column that is to be used as a key has the “Key” toggle enabled. However, for UK addresses, it isn’t necessary for this to be enabled as the platform will automatically recognise it as a key during the normalization stage.
   
   
6. When preparing the Bunker, UDPRN will be available as a key and address as a category
   When you come to prepare the normalized data that includes UK addresses, “UDPRN” will be available in the key selector and “Address” in the category selector. You must ignore “Address” and not prepare the Bunker with it in as there will be a high volume of cardinality that is not necessary to take into the Bunker for collaboration purposes.