How Scotland is claiming its place in the UK data ecosystem

Authored by Professor Roger Halliday 

Those familiar with Research Data Scotland (RDS) will know well that we were set up with a core aim to make it quicker and simpler to access data for research in Scotland. It’s a guiding principle that has informed our work since we were first established in 2021. The data landscape has evolved in this time, but our mission remains the same.   

In the past year we began to deliver on our ambitions. The launch of our Researcher Access Service (RAS) in April 2024 – followed by the first few research projects to benefit from this simplified system – marked a significant step forward to improving data access for research in Scotland.  

Beyond Scotland’s National Safe Haven 

But what about research projects that want to connect data from elsewhere? Researchers tell us they want to be able to connect data from different places, whether that’s to data within other trusted research environments in Scotland, or to data held elsewhere 

Some key data about Scottish citizens is held by organisations that serve the whole of Great Britain or the UK, such as through HM Revenues and Customs or the Department of Work and Pensions.  

If we were to develop a method of enabling data linkage from different organisations and government bodies across the four nations, this could create huge potential for new research projects that could positively impact the lives of people in Scotland and beyond. 

To enable data across different organisations to be connected requires trust and certainty in how data will be handled. Having aligned standards, policies and approaches across Scotland and the UK makes a significant contribution to establishing that certainty.     

As such, we are moving towards a connected Scottish data for research system aligned with UK arrangements for access to data. We have to demonstrate that we’re using the collective expertise and resources we have both here in Scotland and across the UK: only by acting collaboratively can we achieve that.  

A four-nations approach 

Strong precedent has already been set for cross nation working within the UK data landscape.   

The ADR UK programme – which we’re proud to help deliver through our work on ADR Scotland – is a strong example of devolved nation work contributing to a UK wide programme investigating the federation of data services across the UK’s four national Trusted Research Environments (TREs). I am expecting this will form an essential element of creating those closer working relationships between safe environments that could be of huge benefit to research and researchers.  

Professor Cathie Sudlow’s independent review of the UK health data landscape, published in November 2024, was a timely reminder of the good that can come from opening access to data for research, and while her five recommendations were for England, they’re both a strong endorsement of our direction of travel in Scotland, as well as an indication of how we could bring that work together across the nations. 

There’s so much great work already taking place across nations, and an enormous amount of potential to build on this.  

Scotland’s opportunity for innovation 

We’re in a strong position in Scotland to play a leading role on this work. We have the advantage of having the combination of excellent data, expertise and an ability to assemble teams quickly, with good population coverage of over five million citizens. This creates the conditions for us to be nimbler with the opportunity to try things on a smaller scale that could inform UK-wide work.  

We’ve learned a lot from our relationship with the Scottish Safe Haven network and are working closely with them in areas including delegated governance and industry use of public sector data.  

I was proud to see RDS listed as a key organisation in the creation of a Scottish Pandemic Sciences Partnership that will connect government policy, national public health and the scientific community. The Partnership, which was proposed in the Pandemic Ready: Safeguarding Our Future Through Preparedness report published in November, will build and maintain connections with the UK and international networks. Yet another strong example of how organisations and administrations across the UK are coming together to equip ourselves for the future.  

There’s lots of expertise in Scotland, and many good reasons to build on it. As we embark on this new year, RDS wants to bring other people and organisations into this work that we haven’t yet connected with, both in Scotland and across the UK. If that’s you, we would love to hear from you as we take on the challenges and opportunities that 2025 has to offer.