Research and development

With additional support from funders including the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), Jisc, and the European Community, we continue to push the boundaries of knowledge and practice in data discovery, access and use.

FAIR-IMPACT

The UK Data Service is a contributor to this Horizon 2020 project, which seeks to establish the implementation of the FAIR principles across the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC), in collaboration with other EOSC agencies.

International Data Access Network (IDAN)

The UK Data Service is a member of the International Data Access Network (IDAN), founded in 2018. IDAN is a collaboration between six Research Data Centres (RDCs) from France, Germany, The Netherlands and the United Kingdom to facilitate research use of controlled access data between these RDCs/countries via reciprocal provision of Safe Room Remote Desktop Access.

International Secure Data Facility Professionals Network (ISDFPN)

The International Secure Data Facility Professionals Network (ISDFPN) brings together international colleagues working in or towards setting up Secure Data Facilities, to share expertise and experiences, discuss relevant areas of work, and to spark collaboration as well as develop new ideas.

The Network is open to different disciplines including: social sciences, health and humanities. ISDFPN is unique in discussing issues not only in relation to quantitative secure data but also options for making qualitative secure data available in the future.

Safe Data Access Professionals (SDAP) Network

The SDAP network facilitates the sharing of expertise, good practice and knowledge between organisations providing, or intending to provide, secure access to confidential data from the health, economics, and social science research sectors.

The network holds regular meetings and produces guides and resources for those working within the data landscape. Across 2021-2024 ESRC funding is supporting the network to plan strategically how to meet the needs of a rapidly developing landscape and community of secure data access professionals.