DARE UK (Data and Analytics Research Environments UK) has today published its third UK Sensitive Data Infrastructure Landscape Review, offering a detailed, UK-wide picture of how Trusted Research Environments (TREs) are supporting research for public benefit.
Building on early insights shared late last year, the full report brings together findings from a 2025 survey of 63 organisations across universities, government, charities and the private sector. It provides one of the most comprehensive overviews to date of how TREs operate, how they are funded and how they are evolving to meet growing demand.
Enabling research while protecting privacy
The review highlights the central role of TREs in the UK’s approach to using sensitive data responsibly. These highly secure computing environments allow approved researchers to analyse sensitive datasets without the data leaving a controlled setting.
TREs make it possible to carry out vital research using data from areas such as health, education and social care, while maintaining strict safeguards and public trust.
DARE UK’s work focuses on strengthening and connecting these environments to support trustworthy, consistent and high-quality sensitive data research in the UK.
A growing and increasingly capable ecosystem
The review confirms that the UK has a large and expanding TRE ecosystem. The organisations surveyed together support nearly 7,000 active research projects per year using sensitive data, demonstrating the scale and importance of this infrastructure.
Most activity sits within universities and the public sector, with TREs operating across all four UK nations, although capacity and capability vary between regions.
The review also shows that many organisations perform multiple roles across the system, reflecting the collaborative and interconnected nature of sensitive data research.
Funding, workforce and public involvement
TREs continue to rely heavily on public funding, with around two-thirds of organisations reporting grant funding as a core source of income. Staff costs account for a significant share of expenditure, underlining the importance of skilled teams in maintaining secure and effective services.
Public involvement is widely recognised as essential, and more than half of organisations carry out engagement activities at least quarterly. However, the depth and resourcing of this work vary considerably across the sector.
Progress with clear areas for development
Alongside growth, the review highlights ongoing development across the sector. Capability is expanding, and TREs are evolving to support increasingly advanced analytical methods, including AI model training, alongside the computational power needed to deliver them.
However, the findings do point to areas where further work will be important. These include strengthening how different environments work together, automating processes, supporting sustainable funding and workforce capacity, and enabling more joined-up research across datasets.
Emerging TRE capabilities are being piloted through TREvolution, a DARE UK initiative advancing sensitive data research in the UK by adopting shared standards and building trustworthy innovations for better and faster research.
The full review sets out a clear evidence base to inform future decisions across the UK data research landscape.
Supporting the next phase
The review presents a picture of a system that is maturing and becoming more connected, while still facing uneven capacity and differing levels of capability.
The findings are intended to inform future collaboration across the UK, helping to shape a trustworthy, efficient, and resilient national data research infrastructure to respond to some of the UK’s most pressing challenges.
Read the full review
The UK Sensitive Data Infrastructure Landscape Review 2025 is now available. We encourage researchers, policymakers, infrastructure providers and the wider public to explore the findings and get involved.
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