Our Mission and Purpose
Health Datasets in the UK are held by thousands of different organisations. It can therefore be difficult for researchers, innovators, members of the public and patients, to discover what Datasets exist. The Gateway was established in 2020 as a common entry point for researchers and innovators to discover and request access to UK health-related Datasets. A major new version of the Gateway was released in 2024, providing significant enhancements advancing beyond data discovery to make the entire researcher journey – from finding Datasets to analysing data and sharing outputs – smoother and more efficient. The enhanced version provided a more intuitive user interface, more intelligent search capabilities, improved linkage between different Gateway entities, support for more Dataset types (e.g. imaging, multi-omic data and BioSamples), the ability to view all resources associated with each Data Custodian, and automation of many processes.
The Gateway was created with input from patients, the public, researchers and innovators working in health and care in the UK. Health Data Research UK is committed to its continued partnership with these groups as the Gateway is further developed and enhanced.
You can think of the Gateway as a search-engine or ‘portal’ to help you find health Datasets that exist in the UK, but also associated health data resources such as Analysis Scripts & Software, Data Uses / Research Projects and Publications (academic papers).
The Gateway does not hold or store any Datasets or patient or health data, but rather acts as a portal to allow discovery of Datasets and for bona fide professionals to request access to them for health research. A Dataset is a collection of related individual pieces of data but in the case of health data, identifiable information (e.g. name or NHS number) is removed and data is de-identified where possible. When you access the Gateway, you will not be able to view or extract the data itself. Instead, you will be able to see information that describes what the different Datasets are (e.g. where the Dataset has come from, a description of the Dataset, the time period and the geographical areas the Dataset covers).
The Datasets that are discoverable through the Gateway are from organisations in the NHS, research institutes and charities, many of which are part of the UK Health Data Research Alliance. You can find out more about its members on the UK Health Data Research Alliance website. The information about the Datasets has been provided by the relevant Data Custodian and is continually updated.
To request access to the data, you will need to sign in and then follow the access request process. Only once your request has been through the process to ensure your application meets all of the requirements and is approved by the Data Controller, will you be able to access the data. Your access to the data will be provided outside of the Gateway in line with the processes of the Data Controller.
The Health Data Research Gateway is managed by Health Data Research UK in collaboration with the UK Health Data Research Alliance.
We see the Gateway as a collaborative platform, not solely developed by HDR UK. With its new modular design and open-source code, other technical teams can use and contribute to it. For more information on this see Open Source Development.
We are also co-creating the Gateway with input from Users and Data Custodians to ensure their needs inform its design and functionality. Our partnership with NHS England’s Data for Research and Development Programme, for example, is improving the discoverability of NHS data available for research through the NHS Research Secure Data Environment (SDE) Network.
We are committed to continuously improving the Gateway, collaborating with our partners to meet the evolving needs of researchers while expanding the number of resources accessible to them and the wider health data community. To learn more about the Gateway roadmap see For Researchers and Innovators.
Please do reach out through our Support Centre to explore potential projects or share ideas for collaboration – your input and feedback will help shape the future of the Gateway.
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Health Data Research UK is the national institute for health data science and its mission is to unite the UK’s health data to enable discoveries that improve people’s lives.
We are a registered charity no. 1194431 funded by UK Research and Innovation, the Department of Health and Social Care in England and equivalents in Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland, and leading medical research charities.
The Gateway is funded as part of HDR UK’s core work over the next five years.