RAS Approval Pathway pricing

Find detailed information on costs associated with using the Researcher Access Service (RAS).

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Researcher Access Service (RAS) pricing model

Researchers are not charged for data in Scotland. However, there are costs for the services provided by eDRIS and Research Data Scotland (RDS) to support researchers through the access process, including information governance and data linkage.

The Researcher Access Service operates a tiered pricing structure based on the type of organisation researchers are applying from (e.g. public sector, academia, charity, commercial, industry). The level of charge is based on the complexity of the project and the amount of support required. All pricing is under continuous review and actual costs will be agreed with the researcher during the application process.

Please be aware that researchers are required to have funding in place before they receive eDRIS support with their application. The eDRIS team can provide cost estimates to support funding applications to cover data linkage and support costs.

Researcher Access Service (RAS) pricing

Project type	NHS or Public Sector body (base rate)*	Academic Institution or Third Sector organisation (base rate)*	Commercial or Industrial organisation
RAS Approval Pathway cost	£4,880 (ex. VAT)	£6,344 (ex. VAT)	Ineligible for RAS Approval Pathway

Project type

NHS or Public Sector body

(base rate)*

Academic Institution or Third Sector organisation

(base rate)*

Commercial or Industrial organisation

RAS Approval Pathway cost

£4,880 (ex. VAT)

£6,344 (ex. VAT)

Ineligible for RAS Approval Pathway

*Base rate includes up to two researchers for two years of data access and covers any combination of the RAS Approval Pathway datasets.

Please note, all prices above are exclusive of VAT. For all RAS Approval Pathway applications, RDS will charge VAT at the standard rate as appropriate.

Preparing your application

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

Find application guidance

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Project Amendments

If a project is approved by the RAS Approval Panel but subsequently amended, the following cost model will apply, depending on the type of amendment:

Amendment type	NHS or Public Sector body		Academic Institution of Third Sector organisation
	Within 30 days of data access being provided	After 30 days of data access being provided	Within 30 days of data access being provided	After 30 days of data access being provided
Addition of research questions	£0	£0	£0	£0
Addition of approved researchers (cost per additional researcher)	£836	£836	£1,087	£1,087
Extension of project end date (cost per additional year)	£836	£836	£1,087	£1,087
Addition of variables or datasets (within scope of the RAS Approval Pathway)	£0**	£836	£0**	£1,087
Addition of variables or datasets beyond scope of the RAS Approval Pathway	This amendment would initiate a new data linkage, taking the project out of the scope of the RAS Approval Pathway and requiring a new application to be submitted via the PBPP Approval Pathway and creating a new cost estimate. Costs would depend on the project requirements. Find more details using the eDRIS pricing guide.

**This is to ensure the quality of the data you've been provided is suitable for your project. Requesting additional datasets not originally included in your application will be charged at the rates quoted for addition of variables or datasets after 30 days of data access being provided.

Please note, all prices above are exclusive of VAT. For all RAS Approval Pathway applications, RDS will charge VAT at the standard rate as appropriate.

RAS pricing example

An academic institution has an application approved via the RAS Approval Pathway for two researchers accessing data for two years. The cost for this project is £6,344 (ex. VAT).

After data access is provided, they then submit a project amendment to add two additional researchers to their project (£1,087 x2 ex. VAT) and extend their data access for an extra year (£1,087 ex. VAT). The total cost for their amendment would be £3,261 (ex. VAT).