RAS Approval Pathway

Find more detail on the scope of the Researcher Access Service (RAS) Approval Pathway.

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Christmas service update

From 20 December to 6 January only a limited number of staff will be working within the Research Data Scotland (RDS) and eDRIS teams.

This means that:

You can still submit an enquiry but new enquiries won’t be triaged during this period.
There will be no technical support for the National Safe Haven – for example, password resets or access issues.
Unless agreed in advance, no release of data for projects or statistical disclosure control checks will be carried out.

Contacting us

The RDS RAS admin mailbox (ras@researchdata.scot) will be checked periodically and only urgent requests will be actioned where possible.
The eDRIS mailbox (edris@phs.scot) will only be monitored once a day and non-urgent requests will not receive a response until after the new year.

Thank you for your understanding and happy holidays!

Researcher Access Service (RAS) Approval Pathway

After you submit your enquiry, a member of the eDRIS team will assess your project against the criteria below to determine if it suits the RAS Approval Pathway. Applications that fall outside the scope of this pathway will progress through the PBPP Approval Pathway.

Details of all projects approved through the RAS Approval Pathway are published on our Data Use Register.

Currently, the scope of the RAS Approval Pathway covers projects that derive their study population and linked data from nine of Public Health Scotland’s most frequently used datasets. In addition to this requirement, applications will be evaluated against the following criteria:

Your project will progress through this pathway if:
Your project lead and research team are affiliated with an approved organisation
Your project lead and research team have valid Information Governance training from the Office for National Statistics or the Medical Research Council
The purpose of your project is clear
The public benefit of your project is clear
Your research questions can be addressed using the 9 datasets available through this pathway
Your study population and linked data can be derived from the 9 datasets available through this pathway
Your project expects to access data through the Scottish National Safe Haven
The results and findings of your project will be published in the public domain
Consent is provided for your project to be included on a public data use register
Your research methodology falls within the scope of the RAS Approval Pathway

Your project will not progress through this pathway if:
Your project lead and research team are affiliated with or sponsored by a commercial organisation
The purpose of your project is unclear
The public benefit of your project is unclear
Your research questions cannot be addressed using the 9 datasets available through this pathway
Linkage is required to datasets outwith the 9 available through this pathway
The project expects to access data outwith the Scottish National Safe Haven
Disclosive research outputs are required
Consent has not been provided for the project to be included on a public data use register
Your research methodology includes artificial intelligence (AI), intergenerational linkage (e.g. mother-baby linkage) or the use of synthetic data

Additional requirements

Before submitting your application, you will need to have the following in place:

Funding to cover the costs of the data provision
Ethical approval from your own institution
Peer review of your project
A Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA)

Please note: You do not need to have the above in place before submitting an enquiry.

Preparing your application

Think your project is suitable for the Researcher Access Service? Read our guidance on how to prepare your application.

Find application guidance

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Approvals and amendments

Applications following the RAS Approval Pathway will be evaluated by the RAS Approval Panel instead of a Public Benefit and Privacy Panel (PBPP). This aims to cut down on the time it takes for researchers to access their data. Please note, however, that if a project changes significantly in scope after it has been approved by the RAS Approval Panel, you might be asked to submit a new application through the PBPP Approval Pathway.

The RAS Approval panel is made up of representatives from Research Data Scotland and Public Health Scotland. They are responsible for confirming that an application has met all criteria for RAS Pathway eligibility and that the proposed research is in the public good.