Accessing health data for research in the public good shouldn’t feel like navigating a maze. Yet across the UK, researchers often encounter fragmented pathways, overlapping requirements, and processes that vary between Trusted Research Environments (TREs, also known as Secure Data Environments, or SDEs) and data custodians. The UK holds some of the world’s most valuable health data, but its potential can be difficult to unlock when routes to access are unclear.

The Data Access Map brings much-needed clarity to this landscape, helping researchers understand the steps involved and plan their journey with confidence.

A tube map for data access

Inspired by the London Underground map, the Data Access Map presents each data access process as a “line” on a transport network. Each line represents a TRE or data custodian, with “stations” marking key stages, including:

  • Pre-application enquiries
  • Researcher accreditation
  • Feasibility assessments
  • Ethics approvals
  • Data Access Committee reviews
  • Data provisioning

Interchanges highlight where processes converge such as shared approvals, common decision points, or identical requirements across different routes. The result is a visual guide that makes it easy to see where pathways overlap, where they differ, and what researchers need to navigate at each stage, helping to identify opportunities for greater efficiency.

Beyond the map: Practical, step-by-step guidance

Alongside the map is an interactive companion tool. Clicking on any station reveals clear guidance and direct links to the official requirements on each TRE or data custodian’s website.

Together, the map and companion tool provide both a high-level overview and practical detail, supporting researchers to plan applications, anticipate timelines, and understand what is required at each step.

Why this matters

Researchers seeking access to health data face several persistent challenges:

  • Time-consuming applications: Significant effort is often required just to understand what is needed before an application can begin.
  • Fragmented processes: Similar goals, but different steps, documentation, and timelines across organisations.
  • Limited transparency: It is not always easy for researchers or the public to see how data access works in practice.

These barriers slow research, erode trust and make the system harder to navigate than it needs to be. The recently announced Health Data Research Service (HDRS) aims to address this by rationalising existing processes and facilitating a more coordinated and streamlined  route to NHS data for approved researchers.

The Data Access Map supports this transition by illuminating the current landscape and helping researchers move through existing pathways more efficiently. It will also help strategic assessments as to how the community can collectively address barriers and duplication and move to a simplified yet robust data access process.

Creation of the Data Access Map

The Data Access Map was originally developed through a collaborative effort by members of the Pan-UK Data Governance Steering Group. The tool is now entering its next phase, as we begin a refresh to update its content and expand it to include additional data access routes.

Join us: Add your data access process to the map

The Data Access Map is a living resource, and we invite data custodians to help make it as complete and useful as possible. If you manage a data access process that should be represented, we would welcome your contribution.

Adding your pathway benefits everyone:

  • Researchers gain clarity on how to access your data
  • Your organisation becomes more visible to the research community
  • The sector moves closer to greater standardisation and transparency

If you’d like to get involved and add your process, please contact information.governance@hdruk.ac.uk.

If you’d like to learn more, you can explore the following tools: