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NHS Research Secure Data Environments – how collaboration is helping drive improved public health and patient care

Jake Marshall, Head of Life Sciences and Public Sector Partnerships for the Data for Research and Development Programme, shares his perspective on how collaboration is shaping the NHS Research Secure Data Environment (SDE) Network to meet the needs of researchers and bring benefits for patients and the public.

NHS England’s Data for Research and Development Programme is collaborating closely with researchers, partners and patients to understand their needs and co-develop research infrastructure that makes health-related data more accessible, secure and trusted.

By coming together and leveraging the power of many, we’re turning ambitious ideas into solutions that unlock the power of NHS data to improve patient care and services.

Co-developing a network for impact

Engaging with researchers and the organisations who represent them has been crucial from the start. Those communities helped us understand how to build a service which supports transformative research, whilst keeping data secure and maintaining public trust.

We have worked closely with stakeholders across the health technology, life science, charity and academic sectors. The feedback received has been consistent. Researchers need rapid and flexible access to nationally-representative, multi-modal data through a single front door and the service must be underpinned by public trust.

We are committed to this ambition. It may sound simple, but it involves complex work across multiple organisations and spans technology, ethics, information governance and other specialisms, so we are pleased with progress made to date.

Delivering on researcher needs

At the end of 2024, we launched a ‘common front door’ into the SDE Network.

The service webpages summarise the types of datasets that SDEs securely offer for approved research, along with information about their region and broader services. Now the first wave of SDE Network data is already available.

Our partnership with HDR UK supported the launch of the enhanced Health Data Research Gateway, an online portal to help health researchers find datasets and other health data resources. Here again the improvements were co-created with researchers and custodians to ensure its design and functionality meets their needs.

Later this year, working with stakeholders, we will further improve the consistency and speed of services for researchers. The enhancements will include:

  • A single data access request form and researcher and organisation validation policy, supporting faster access to self-serve functionality
  • A standardised contracting approach, including a common and flexible pricing model
  • Introduction of a ‘prime SDE’ model for ‘federated’ research projects, providing a single secure workspace and point of customer contact on behalf of multiple contributing SDEs.

Continuous improvement through engagement

Creating a consistently excellent customer experience relies on continuous improvement underpinned by ongoing stakeholder and patient feedback. Continued collaboration will enable us to deliver rapid, secure access to the world’s largest linked health datasets for research. This will improve care, support innovation and sustain the NHS.

So, come collaborate with us! Health researchers are invited to join our ‘Health Data User Group,’ for regular updates and invitations to our workshops. This includes access to our FutureNHS workspace.

This short video will give you a flavour of what to expect.

Hear what our key life sciences and commercial partners worldwide, have said about  NHS Research Secure Data Environment (SDE) Network in these testimonials and case studies.

Email me and the team at data.healthresearch@nhs.net if you’d like to join.

Jake leads stakeholder engagement and business development activity for NHS England’s Data for Research and Development Programme, collaborating with customers and partners to ensure the NHS Research Secure Data Environment Network continues to develop in line with their needs and priorities.

Prior to this role, Jake led on portfolio-level strategy for NHS England’s Transformation Directorate, developing and influencing strategic plans for digital, data and technology across the NHS. He also has experience of working on digital value propositions internationally for healthcare and life sciences sector organisations during his time in management consultancy.