About
Our mission is to enable Users, Organisations and Data Custodians to collaborate efficiently, saving time and supporting secure data access while upholding the highest standards of security and compliance.
Background
Research can transform lives, but often requires the use of highly sensitive information, which must only be accessed by accredited professionals, in secure environments, and for projects that benefit the public. These principles are captured under the Five Safes Framework(opens in a new tab) which guide the responsible use of sensitive data in research.
The Safe People Registry is a secure software solution designed to standardise and simplify User (researcher, innovator) validation for secure data access – the ‘safe people’ principle. It is maintained and supported by Health Data Research UK’s Technology Team(opens in a new tab), but is not health-data specific.
Our history
The HDR UK Tech Team knew both in theory and often personally how frustrating and fragmented the process of accessing sensitive data could be — especially when researchers and organisations had to repeatedly prove their credibility. And this wasn’t just a health‑sector issue; the same challenge showed up in education and beyond. We therefore applied for and gained funding from UKRI and DSIT in 2023 to come up with a solution.
We engaged heavily with stakeholders, running our ideas past the Pan-UK Data Governance Steering Group(opens in a new tab), the UK Trusted Research Environment Community(opens in a new tab), and more. There was no standard system, guidance, or tool for ‘safe people’ validations. In response, we engaged in a multi-pronged approach to understand the landscape:
Listening closely to the needs of data users and access approvers
Mapping existing processes
Supporting the development of guidance (see key references below)
The result is the Safe People Registry: a flexible and practical tool designed to simplify ‘safe people’ validations and support consistent, confident decision making, even as needs and policies evolve over time.