Coming soon: the Scottish Safe Haven Charter 2.0
10 April 2024
Eilidh Guthrie, Partnerships Officer and Jenny Johnston, Project Manager (Scottish Safe Haven Charter Refresh) give us an overview of recent work on the Scottish Safe Haven Charter.
Scottish Safe Havens Network
Research Data Scotland (RDS) is working with the National Safe Haven and the four Scottish Regional Safe Havens to simplify systems, processes and services.
About the Scottish Safe Havens Network
The Scottish Safe Havens Network connects the organisations behind Scotland's secure data infrastructure. The network was established by the Scottish Government’s Chief Scientist Office (CSO) and supported by Research Data Scotland (RDS), with the aim of improving systems for accessing data for research in line with the Scottish Government's strategy for health and social care.
The expert steering group operates under the Safe Havens Charter to ensure secure data access for research across Scotland and provides collaborative innovation and improvements in access to health, social care and administrative data, thereby enabling beneficial research.
The future investment in greater federation of technology, governance and administration across the Safe Haven Network will significantly improve access to data. By creating a federated/linked environment in which using data from two or more Safe Havens is secure and efficient, important research for the public benefit of Scotland is enabled.
Who is involved?
RDS chairs the Scottish Safe Havens Steering Group and coordinates activities with input from member organisations. Membership comprises representatives from:
- Electronic Data Research and Innovation Service (eDRIS)
- Health Informatics Centre (HIC), University of Dundee, East of Scotland Node
- Data Safe Haven (DaSH), Grampian
- Lothian Regional Safe Haven (DataLoch)
- The West of Scotland Safe Haven (Greater Glasgow and Clyde)
- EPCC, University of Edinburgh
- Research Data Scotland (RDS)
Scottish Safe Havens Steering Group
Members of the Scottish Safe Havens Network are represented in the Scottish Safe Havens Steering Group. The remit of the Steering Group is to lead, develop and innovate projects that deliver federation of data from the Regional Safe Havens, as well as to align and coordinate objectives across the Safe Havens.
Our work and impact
The group meets monthly, usually online, on the last Monday of each month. We often have a relevant external speaker at meetings.
Systems Development Fund (2023/24)
The second round of the Systems Development Fund aimed to support the development of the four Regional Safe Havens in Scotland.
For Round 2, RDS funded projects which align with the following five priorities:
- Support joint working/federalisation across all the Regional Safe Havens, as outlined in the Scottish Government’s Health and Social Care Data Strategy.
- Pilot or support specialisation in a particular Regional Safe Haven, or expand something that is happening in one safe haven across others.
- Support working between national and regional Safe Havens.
- Support developments that align with those deliverables that mention the data safe havens in the research and innovation chapter of the Health and Social Care Data Strategy.
- Filling in the geographical gaps which exist between the four regional safe havens, and their respective health boards.
Learn more about the projects supported by the Systems Development Fund in 2023/24
DARE UK Driver Projects
In 2023, DARE UK (Data and Analytics Research Environments UK) announced funding for five Driver Projects aiming to transform sensitive data research in the UK. These projects aimed to help lay the foundations for a UK-wide network that links together existing trusted research environments.
The Scottish Safe Havens were involved in all five of these projects, with RDS leading public engagement on two of the projects. To learn more about the DARE UK Driver Project, click here.
Other work and impact
The Scottish Safe Havens Network is working on a number of activities, including:
- All Regional Safe Havens support the Data Saves Lives and Five Safes framework for public benefit and to enable efficient research.
- A refresh of the Safe Havens Charter to bring it up to date with recent developments.
- The Systems Development Fund in 2022/23 and 2023/24.
- Inputting into industrial use of data via the 'Industry access to public sector data: Policy on data access, Scottish Government' review.
- A project around how we communicate consistency and security regarding the safe havens in Scotland, and advocate for the key role they play in the data system.
- Calling for greater investment in Trusted Research Environments (TREs) in Scotland to effectively, technically and materially, in modern infrastructure terms, connect the Scottish Data Safe Haven network (TREs/Secure Data Environments) with the NHS England SDE network in an interoperable and powerful system.
- Reviewing information governance and related processes, led by DataLoch, and use cases, led by DaSH.
- Coordinating other activities, such as responding to DARE UK and other funding calls.
The Scottish Safe Havens Steering Group is accredited to ISO27001 or equivalent standard for information security management systems.
For more information, please contact Eilidh Guthrie, Partnerships Officer.
Recent updates from the Regional Safe Havens
PETs in the NHS
27 March 2024
This guest blog authored by Dr Charlie Mayor of West of Scotland Safe Haven is part of a series spotlighting the work of Scotland’s Safe Havens, also known as Trusted Research Environments.
Data Delight: a double celebration for HIC
26 March 2024
This guest blog authored by Dr Laura Ward of the Health Informatics Centre (HIC) is part of a series spotlighting the work of Scotland’s Safe Havens, also known as Trusted Research Environments.