We are delighted that UKRI — the UK’s largest public funder of research — has confirmed funding of up to £18.2 million for the next phase of the DARE UK (Data and Analytics Research Environments UK) programme, made available over 2.5 years.
DARE UK is a data research infrastructure programme aimed at empowering data custodians, scientists and technology experts working alongside the public to co-design and deliver a coordinated, trustworthy national data research infrastructure for better research outcomes.
Health Data Research UK (HDR UK) and Administrative Data Research UK (ADR UK), a UK-wide partnership transforming public sector data into research assets and policy-relevant insights, will continue to oversee the management and delivery of the programme during Phase 2. The programme will continue to receive funding through the UKRI Digital Research Infrastructure programme, which invests in new capabilities and in evolving existing infrastructures to support new communities of practice.
The investment will support researchers using TREs to do faster and safer research with sensitive data, for example, through new capabilities in federated analysis and safe training of AI models. The DARE UK programme will continue to work with and convene stakeholders across the research ecosystem to deliver this in Phase 2.
Professor Emily Jefferson, Interim Director of DARE UK and Chief Technology Officer of Health Data Research UK, said:
“The insights and recommendations we gathered in Phase 1 have been instrumental in shaping this next phase, which will focus on building, testing, and establishing new Trusted Research Environment (TRE) capabilities as part of a connected national sensitive data research infrastructure. By continuing to engage with our diverse community of stakeholders and strengthening our public involvement efforts, we will work to ensure that public benefit research conducted using sensitive data can be done in a faster and more efficient way. We look forward to the collaborative journey ahead.”
The DARE UK programme was launched in July 2021 with funding for Phase 1 of £7.5 million. The successful delivery of Phase 1 identified key gaps and set the direction for a connected national network of secure data research infrastructures.
Professor Andrew Morris, Director of Health Data Research UK, said:
“The new funding for DARE UK is a vote of confidence in what the programme has already delivered and the potential for the UK in constructing a secure, connected national infrastructure that can be trusted by the public for research on sensitive data. Getting this right holds enormous promise for new insights into societal challenges that can improve our lives.”
Working with partners, Phase 2 will start to assemble and test the digital infrastructure required for research to tackle complex societal challenges. As DARE UK’s previous work has shown, this can deliver new insights into challenges such as long-term unemployment, children’s mental health, childhood obesity, and transforming the food economy. The DARE UK programme will continue to be underpinned by public involvement and engagement (PIE) across all work programmes.
Dr Emma Gordon, Director of ADR UK, said:
“With more data than ever before now available across the UK’s secure research infrastructures, it is imperative the DARE UK programme proceeds into this delivery phase. It is only by building new capabilities for a connected national network of secure data research infrastructures that we will facilitate researchers being able to examine the interplay of different parts of life on societal outcomes and make comparisons across different parts of the UK.”
Learn more about the programme, successes from Phase 1 and the key work programmes for Phase 2 in
Read DARE UK’s announcement
For more information, please send an email to enquiries@dareuk.org.uk.
