With funding from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), DARE UK (Data and Analytics Research Environments UK) has launched an additional early adopter project as part of the Phase 2 Transformational Programme.
The new project, SOCRATES: Scaling Output Checking, Release and Accreditation in Trusted Research Environments, will provide a crucial additional perspective and testbed at the UK Data Service, the UK’s largest digital repository for quantitative and qualitative social science and humanities research data.
SOCRATES is led by UK Data Service and has been awarded £313,441 in funding until October 2026. The project joins six other early adopter projects launched earlier this year (March 2025) supporting efforts to address challenges to accessing and analysing sensitive data and releasing research outputs within Trusted Research Environments (TREs).
Checking research outputs for privacy risks before release is a crucial part of the research journey within TREs. However, at present, this process is done manually and can be time-consuming and expensive. SOCRATES will explore how semi-automation could make this process faster, more consistent and scalable, while maintaining the highest standards of security and compliance.
By testing new tools and approaches in the UK Data Service SecureLab – one of the UK’s longest-standing TREs – the project will generate vital evidence to inform how TREs can improve efficiency and researcher experience.
Over the funding period, SOCRATES aims to:
- Evaluate semi-automated output-checking tool implementations against the SATRE (Standardised Architecture for Trusted Research Environments) specification and key accreditation requirements, including the Digital Economy Act Accredited Processing Environment accreditation.
- Deliver evidence on how semi-automation can improve TRE workflows while upholding privacy standards and compliance.
- Provide insights into the governance and operational changes required for adoption at scale.
- Make recommendations for embedding semi-automated output checking into standard TRE processes.
SOCRATES represents a unique contribution to TREvolution, addressing one of the most challenging aspects of TRE workflows and offering a pathway to more scalable research and sustainable TRE operations across the UK.
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