Health Data Research UK today launches its search for a technology partner to deliver the next phase of the Health Data Research Innovation Gateway. The Gateway will help solve one of the biggest challenges facing researchers and innovators in health by providing a common platform to search and identify relevant data sets. The application will help to facilitate greater use of data to improve understanding of disease or find new treatments, whilst also ensuring that patient data is safe and secure.

The Gateway will support researchers and innovators to discover and access data from the UK Health Data Research Alliance in a safe and responsible manner.

The Gateway will be a web application that will enable researchers and innovators to quickly find and request access to health research data held by data custodians, including members of the UK Health Data Research Alliance and the Health Data Research Hubs. The search will mark the beginning of the second phase of development, with work already underway to deliver the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) due in January 2020. The technology partner for this next phase will help to design, deliver, operate and continually improve the Gateway with Health Data Research UK.

Using cutting edge business and technical metadata, the application will support a rich data discovery experience for researchers. The Gateway itself will not store or hold health data, which will continue to be held by the data custodians in secure accredited Trusted Research Environments, and its use will not change any existing rigorous rules around data access approval. Analysis of data will be conducted in the Trusted Research Environments supported by tools available through the Gateway.

This important development project will take place through to April 2022, with versions of the Gateway coming online throughout the development process. User feedback will be sought at all stages, with patient and public involvement and engagement being essential throughout the delivery of this critical piece of infrastructure to the UK healthcare research and innovation community.

The opportunity will be published on the Tenders Electronic Daily website, the online version of the ‘Supplement to the Official Journal’ of the EU (OJEU), with Health Data Research UK leading the procurement process. For further details of the call please visit the Gateway Development Phase 2 page.

Click here to find out more about the call for Phase 2 of the Gateway