About Research Data Scotland

Research Data Scotland (RDS) connects researchers with public sector data.

Our mission is to help researchers find and make use of health, social care and administrative data to improve the lives of people in Scotland.

We’ve created the Researcher Access Service – a streamlined end-to-end platform which makes it faster and simpler to access Scottish public sector data for research in the public benefit.

We are also working to improve and standardise metadata for public sector datasets, making it easier for researchers to locate datasets and quickly understand whether they are suitable. RDS works with Scotland’s National and four Regional Safe Havens to realise a federated network, through simplifying and streamlining common systems, processes and services.

RDS is working to tackle some of the important challenges to faster, more efficient and safe access to current and wider Scottish public sector data. An independent charity established by the Scottish Government, we work to build on, and transform, key aspects of the data research system.

Working in partnership with Scottish Government, leading Universities and data organisations across Scotland and the UK, we are safely and securely widening the range of data available, creating new data assets and providing a single point of contact for effective access to public sector data.

Find out more about our mission and our current work on our website. Subscribe to our newsletter for regular updates and follow us on LinkedIn to stay in touch.