Animations score silver for Research Data Scotland

Supported by funding from Health Data Research UK (HDR UK) and the Medical Research Council (MRC), RDS worked with production company Media Co-op to create the videos.

RDS won funding from a new initiative to enable members of the UK Health Data Research Alliance and other custodians of health data to improve the transparency of processes for accessing data for research.

Layla Robinson, Chief Partnerships and Strategy Officer, said:

“It’s inspiring to see our commitment to creating clear and concise content that resonates with the public recognised by this silver award for our animation series. We’re thrilled with this achievement and are grateful to HDR UK and MRC for the funding, without which it would not have been possible to make the films in the first place.

“It’s been brilliant to see the impact of the animations and receive positive feedback from members of the public, researchers and data professionals.”

Cassie Smith, Head of Legal, Trust and Ethics at HDR UK said:

“Transparency is vital for building public trust and helping researchers access the data they need to drive healthcare innovation. These animations are a brilliant example of how clear, accessible communication can help break down complex data access processes and highlight the public value of health data research.

“We’re proud to have supported this project in implementing the Alliance Transparency Standards, which provide practical guidance for making data access easier to understand and navigate. Congratulations to Research Data Scotland on this well-deserved award!”

Audience feedback

To ensure the animations were both accurate and public-friendly, data experts and members of the public were consulted throughout the project. This included two rounds of feedback from the Scotland Talks Data public panel, ensuring the videos used appropriate and accessible language for a wide range of audiences.

Throughout the production process, RDS aimed to keep accessibility at the forefront of the videos. Alongside closed captions, each video has a corresponding British Sign Language (BSL) interpreted version to support further accessibility and ensure that a wider audience can interact with the resources.

The project was presented at the UK Health Data Alliance Transparency Showcase on 22 May 2024 and published in academic, peer-review International Journal of Population Data Science. The films have a combined number of views of nearly 1,500 and a Creative Commons Non-Commercial Share Alike 4.0 license enables other organisations to reuse the animations, sharing with a wider audience across Scotland and the UK.

To download the videos for re-use, please get in touch.

This award recognition follows RDS being shortlisted for the Business Charity Awards, British Data Awards and Digital Health and Care Awards.