TRESS: Trusted Research Environments Software Stewardship

Trusted Research Environments (TREs) rely on complex software tools that are often developed and maintained independently. This can lead to duplication of effort, inconsistent security practices, and difficulties in sharing or reusing tools across organisations. As the TRE ecosystem grows, these challenges risk slowing innovation and increasing operational burden.

TRESS addresses this problem by developing a shared, standards-aligned approach to software stewardship across federated TREs. The project will deliver a production-grade, open-source TRE deployed at multiple institutions, supported by a documented Software Development Life Cycle and an open Information Security Management System. These components will demonstrate how software can be collaboratively governed without compromising institutional autonomy.

By focusing on reuse, transparency, and interoperability, TRESS will provide a practical foundation for more sustainable TRE operations. Its outputs will support organisations looking to adopt shared tooling while maintaining trust, security, and accountability.

TRESS will engage stakeholders with a clear public interest in data access, privacy, and research ethics. Activities include public pulse surveys, blogs, webinars, and engagement events designed to explore expectations around governance and trust. Feedback will inform how stewardship models are designed and communicated.

By the end of the project, TRESS will:

• Deliver an open-source TRE deployed across multiple institutions
• Publish a reusable Software Development Life Cycle for TRE software
• Produce an open Information Security Management System
• Demonstrate scalable, federated software stewardship in practice

Project information

Lead organisation: University of Oxford
Principal investigator: Professor David De Roure
Project duration: 12 months
Project partners: University College London, Thames Valley and Surrey Secure Data Environment
Funding provided: £319,477
Primary contact email: david.deroure@oerc.ox.ac.uk