Partner perspectives: insights and reflections from our All Partner meeting

Around 70 colleagues from across the partnership attended the meeting, which brought together those who work in partnership with RDS for updates, discussions and networking to support collaborative work towards faster and simpler access to public sector data for research. 

We spoke to colleagues at Public Health Scotland, National Records of Scotland, Smart Data Foundry and the University of Dundee Health Informatics Centre (HIC) to hear their reflections on the partnership’s progress to date and insights into how RDS and its partners are collaborating to improve Scotland’s data for research landscape. 

What achievement from the partnership are you most proud of over the last 12 months? 

James Watson, Public Health Scotland: “It has been an amazing experience to be part of the construction, testing and operation of the Researcher Access Service – to go from platform design to first released outputs within less than 12 months is amazing, and not what I have experienced in the NHS/public sector in the past! I am proud to have been part of the delivery of this groundbreaking new process.” 

Susan Krueger, HIC, one of Scotland’s Regional Safe Havens: “We are most proud of the joint positions being formulated on Scottish Safe Haven Network (SSHN) interests, the collaborative efforts on opportunities for growth within the SSHN, and the commission of the Safe Haven Charter refresh. These achievements demonstrate our shared commitment to enhancing the strategic direction of the network for the benefit of all stakeholders.”

What do you hope to progress over the next 6 to 12 months? 

Magdalena Getler, Smart Data Foundry: “I am very excited about the prospect of greater integration of different data sources – whether administrative, traditional, or private sector (SDF's domain) for research in the public interest.

“The focus will be on increasing the discoverability of data for evidence, knowledge generation and, ultimately, insights and evidence-based policymaking. Here, we will be exploring the potential of combining different data sources and types and ensuring, above all, that we provide a researcher-centred infrastructure and the type of data and functionality that researchers need.”

Susan Krueger, HIC: “In the next 6 to 12 months, we hope the partnership will focus on developing a joint vision, mission, and objectives for the future of the Scottish Safe Haven Network. By aligning our strategic goals, we can build a stronger, more unified network that maximises the impact of our collaborative efforts and be clear to researchers using our individual services.”

Tell us about one thing from the event that really got you thinking

Esther Roughsedge, National Records of Scotland: “I am relatively new to this subject, having taken over a new role two weeks ago. It was brilliant to be able to go to this event and greatly improve my understanding of what is going on, as well as being able to meet so many people.”

Magdalena Getler, Smart Data Foundry: “I am impressed by the amount of work and holistic thought put into connecting researchers and policymakers with data through the Researcher Access Service. Only those who have worked in providing data services for researchers will truly understand the extent of behind-the-scenes work here. Hats off to the entire team at RDS!”

James Watson, Public Health Scotland: “I was able to take a step back and consider how the various pieces of work will fit together, and am really excited about the potential changes that can come from ongoing partnerships between the Safe Havens and the new data opportunities offered by Smart Data Foundry. Exciting times!”

What's the one thing you're going to take forward after the All Partner meeting?

James Watson, Public Health Scotland: “I think it will be working more closely with the data acquisition teams. It’s important to ensure the improvements made in the researcher experience and administrative areas – such as the Researcher Access Service - are backed up by improvements behind the scenes to the infrastructure and processes to get the data in a usable form.”

Magdalena Getler, Smart Data Foundry: “Knowledge exchange is a crucial aspect here, facilitating ideas and experiences. I’m particularly excited to follow up with Rob Wallace from eDRIS at Public Health Scotland about his experiences with the SMI (Scottish Medical Imaging) container trial.”