Phase 1 Driver Projects

The projects will take a leading role in informing the design of what will be a UK-wide network of trusted research environments (TREs) – highly secure digital environments that provide access to sensitive data for analysis by accredited researchers.

This is to support cross-domain data research for public good – for example, research about education, health, the environment and more, and how these different aspects of our lives interact with each other.

When sensitive data is made accessible for research, it is de-identified (all personal identifiable information is removed) and held in TREs, which have a series of strict security measures to prevent re-identification and protect against data misuse. This enables researchers to securely analyse the data as part of important projects in the public good.

Currently, different TREs across the UK follow different standards and processes, making it difficult for researchers to conduct analysis on multiple datasets held across different TREs. The five Driver Projects will explore solutions to developing more standardised approaches to running and governing TREs, so that data can be more easily analysed across them in a safe, secure and efficient way.

The funding was awarded as a result of an open call for proposals from October to December 2022, with all applications received assessed by an independent panel of experts. The projects will run for nine months from February to October 2023, and their outputs will be shared publicly via the DARE UK website in late 2023.

Follow the links below to find out more about each of the projects and what they aim to achieve.