SOCRATES: Scaling Output Checking, Release and Accreditation in Trusted Research Environments

The UK Data Service SecureLab is one of the longest-standing TREs in the UK, providing secure access to highly sensitive data since 2011. It supports hundreds of research projects every year, enabling approved researchers in the UK, and through selected partner locations in Europe, to generate insights for the public good. Currently, all researcher outputs are subject to rigorous manual privacy checks before they can be released.

SOCRATES will test new ways of introducing automation into this process, piloting tools that could speed up disclosure checks and reduce the burden on specialist staff. The project will assess how these approaches could be scaled to meet growing demand, while ensuring compliance with UK and international standards is upheld, to improve the researcher experience by making outputs available more quickly.

By building on the expertise of the UK Data Service in statistical disclosure control and governance, SOCRATES will demonstrate how automation can strengthen efficiency, reduce bottlenecks, and provide a pathway for wider adoption across the TRE landscape. This work will directly contribute to the TREvolution vision by helping TREs become more scalable, sustainable, and able to meet the needs of researchers while keeping sensitive data safe.

By the end of the project, SOCRATES will:

• Evaluate semi-automated research output checking tools against the SATRE (Standardised Architecture for Trusted Research Environments) specification and existing accreditation requirements, such as the Digital Economy Act Accredited Processing Environment accreditation, to ensure they can be adopted without compromising compliance.
• Deliver evidence on how semi-automated output checking can improve the efficiency of TRE workflows without compromising security or compliance.
• Uncover insights into the changes to governance and operational models required for wider adoption.
• Make recommendations for embedding these approaches into standard TRE processes, supporting the move from testing to business-as-usual.

These outcomes will inform how TREs across the UK could use semi-automated output checking to improve efficiency while maintaining the highest standards of security and trust, directly supporting the TREvolution project and the wider DARE UK vision.

Project information

Lead organisation: UK Data Service
Principal investigator: John Sanderson
Project duration: 14 months
Funding provided: £313,441
Primary contact email: john.sanderson@essex.ac.uk

Relevant links

• UK Data Service