The first eight weeks of 2026 have continued our focus on responding to user needs and fostering community discussion about the Gateway’s evolution. Here’s what’s new:
February roadmap session
On 11 February, we held our monthly Gateway roadmap drop-in event. Attendees heard about current platform features, upcoming plans, and had the opportunity to provide real-time feedback to inform future releases. Thank you to everyone who participated – your input is directly shaping the future of the Gateway. Upcoming sessions:
Sign up here
API and developer foundations
With APIv2 now fully in place, we’ve continued making backend refinements and performance improvements to strengthen Gateway’s technical foundations. These updates support improved discoverability and access-enabling features across the platform.
Improved user satisfaction experience
Based on feedback, we’ve reduced the frequency of the customer satisfaction (CSAT) survey to a quarterly schedule. We’ve also refined how the survey appears to make it easier to complete, ensuring your feedback continues to shape future improvements without disrupting your experience.
15 bugs squashed
We’ve solved 15 issues, including:
- Memory performance issues
- Dataset endpoint fixes in the API
- Loading performance problems
- Metadata form hydration behaviour from schemas
- Metadata distribution improvements.
These fixes improve reliability and overall user experience.
Widgets adopted by Barts Health
Gateway widgets are now in use by Barts Health allowing them to display their Gateway assets directly on their website. This improves dataset visibility, avoids duplication of effort, and ensures that researchers always and easily see accurate and up-to-date information. See it in action here and learn how to set up your own here.
Cohort Discovery landing page updates
The Cohort Discovery landing pages and access guidance have been updated to improve clarity and user understanding. We’ve also added clearer guidance on the validation process for accessing the NHS Research SDE Network datasets through the Cohort Discovery Service.
Accessibility enhancements
We’ve continued to improve accessibility across the site, including:
- Improved keyboard‑focus contrast for users navigating the site with a keyboard to clearly see elements
- More structured and consistent content
- Better navigation support for screen‑reader users
These updates support a more inclusive experience for all users.
