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It’s no secret that accessing public sector data for research can prove a challenge. Fragmented information and complex data access processes can slow progress, and from a researcher’s perspective, even simple requests can become convoluted.
At Research Data Scotland (RDS), our mission is to work with researchers, analysts and policymakers to make it faster and simpler to access public sector data for research.
Established by the Scottish Government in 2021, Research Data Scotland is an independent charity that works in partnership with the Scottish Government, leading universities and public bodies, such as Public Health Scotland and National Records Scotland.
This includes work to connect researchers to Scotland’s existing public sector data in ways that can link data to get a holistic view about a person, family, place or business. We help researchers find and make use of health, social care and administrative data, making it easier and quicker to understand causes of significant societal challenges and generate evidence to help create policies that improve the lives of people in Scotland.
We’ve made a huge leap towards reaching that goal this year with the introduction of our Researcher Access Service.
What is the Researcher Access Service?
This is a fully digitised, faster, and more efficient way of getting hold of data for research projects. The service operates securely, lawfully and offers an improved end-to-end experience for users, while reducing errors and duplication.
Initially, the service includes nine most frequently requested healthcare datasets that are listed below. Improved access to these datasets opens up the potential for valuable research projects, whether that’s using the data to discover new treatments, or explore the impact of government policy on health and wellbeing.
- (SMR00) – Outpatient Appointments and Attendances
- (SMR01) – General Acute Inpatient and Day Case
- (SMR02) – Maternity Inpatient and Day Case
- (SMR04) – Mental Health Inpatient and Day Case
- (SMR06) – Scottish Cancer Registry
- (PIS) Prescribing Information System
- Scotland Accident and Emergency
- (NRS) Birth Registrations
- (NRS) Death Registrations
How to apply?
The first step is looking in our data catalogue to see whether this data can support your research. Here you can find up-to-date information about these datasets like the variables included and date ranges available. Very shortly there will be synthetic versions of datasets available from our data catalogue. These are instantly downloadable and help you to better understand what the data contains and allows you to develop code whilst you are applying for the actual data.
If this data is what you need then familiarise yourself with the process for getting hold of this data on our website and complete an enquiry form.
Projects deemed suitable for this new pathway will no longer need to be considered by a Public Benefit and Privacy Panel (PBPP). Instead, projects will follow a risk-based triage process guided by the Five Safes framework.
Researchers will also select the datasets they require to help Public Health Scotland’s Electronic Data Research and Innovation Service (eDRIS) determine whether their project is in scope for the Researcher Access Service.
Given that you’d be working with sensitive data, if you wish to access data within Scotland’s National Safe Haven, you will need to complete appropriate training, such as the ONS Safe Researcher training Course. During the enquiry stage, researchers must specify their institutional affiliation to ensure that only researchers from approved organisations can apply for data access.
You’ll be given support throughout the application process, and the data will be made available through the super secure National Safe Haven — you will need to specify how you (and any collaborating researchers) plan to access the data.
While researchers are not charged for access to data in Scotland, there are costs for the services to support researchers through the access process, including information governance and data linkage. Researchers can request cost estimates from the Researcher Access Service support team to support funding applications to cover data linkage and support.
Building our future service
Though we have made exciting progress on the Researcher Access Service so far, this is only the beginning of the story.
We are working closely with users to develop and improve the service offering. Our priority is to introduce measures to speed up the process for accessing data, and to grow this to the most important data about people, places and businesses in Scotland.
As we continue to build the Researcher Access Service, we want to hear from people across the data landscape to shape our services. If you’re interested in working with us to unlock more of Scotland’s data for research, you can sign up to our engagement contact list.
Want to learn more about the Researcher Access Service? Join us for a webinar co-hosted with Health Data Research UK on Wednesday 4 December. This is open to anyone, and will include progress updates, future plans, a demonstration of the application process, and insights from a researcher’s experience of using the service. You can sign up here.
Professor Roger Halliday
Chief Executive Officer, Research Data Scotland
