Making the case for standardisation – Researcher Access Service

So what’s new? 

This release sees us:  

While the service has been operating for 18 months, these changes mark a significant milestone as they bring it in line with the Digital Economy Act and prepare the ground for faster project approvals, and where required, accreditation through the UKSA Research Accreditation Panel.  

Why overhaul the application form? 

If a researcher applies for access to secure data in one UK nation they might be asked a set of questions which differ just enough from another UK nation to warrant a re-write. Questions are asked in slightly different ways, but they’re essentially the same. Researchers are asked to edit their answers and re-submit if their applications are considered not to be approval ready. This can be very frustrating and time-consuming.  

To reduce this frustration, we’ve been working with a group of organisations across the four UK nations to standardise the forms researchers complete when accessing data for research.   

Standardisation of Researcher Application Processes Across the UK  

Led by Administrative Data Research UK (ADR UK), the group is made up of representatives from Research Data Scotland, the Office for National Statistics (ONS), SAIL Databank (Wales), the UK Data Service, and NISRA (Northern Ireland).  

The group mapped the researcher application process across the four UK nations and analysed the application forms used across each Trusted Research Environments (TREs). Collectively they set out a series of recommendations for streamlining forms: 

Standardise common questions  

Questions like methodology, ethics, and project summary appear in all forms but are inconsistently worded and formatted. Standardising the questions should lead to a reduction in duplication for researchers who might interact with multiple TREs.  

Reduce the need for combinations of forms  

Some TREs required researchers to complete both an application form along with additional elements like an ethics self-assessment form. By incorporating the ethics questions within the body of the application form the intention is to reduce the volume of forms and simplify the process for researchers.   

Minimise the total number of forms  

Where feasible, it was recommended that TREs should consolidate their forms, for example combining localised TRE-specific forms with the overarching UKSA form which would reduce administrative burden. 

The new RAS application form launched on 30 October 2025 seeks to follow the standardised approach as recommended by the group, reducing the burden on researchers. A read-only version of the application form is available online. 

What’s next? 

This milestone release lays the foundations for how we plan to build the service in 2026, which will see an increase in the range of datasets available through RAS and onboarding of new data controllers.  The next phase of work involves seeking feedback from researchers so we can continue to iterate and improve the service frequently as more researchers progress through the approvals process to data access. 

Find out more about the Researcher Access Service and the projects approved through it in the Data Use Register.