More than 15 million people across Yorkshire, the Humber and the North of England are poised to benefit from a new initiative to improve the way healthcare researchers can harness data to save lives.
The Yorkshire and Humber Secure Data Environment (SDE), alongside two partner SDEs in the North of England, is proud to be part of this groundbreaking initiative called PANORAMA: Pan-North Data Research Advancements for Multi-Domain Access and Analysis.
It is designed to speed up and streamline the positive contribution that research makes to population health by unlocking the technical, legal and governance barriers that can slow down combining data from different sources.
Specifically, PANORAMA will pilot and assess three critical innovations: the Standard Architecture for Trusted Research Environments (SATRE) specification, federated analysis (TRE-FX), and semi-automated research output checking (SACRO) for both traditional structured data and newer advancements, including machine learning and AI model evaluation.
By the end of the project, PANORAMA will deliver the following key outputs:
- A pan-North Information Governance (IG) framework, based on the SATRE specification, to support future collaboration.
- Feasibility assessments on federated analysis and semi-automatedl research output checking in SDEs, evaluating technical, governance, and operational aspects.
- Practical ‘How-To’ guides for adopting the SATRE specification, federated analysis, and SACRO output checking in secure data settings.
- A report capturing insights from patient, public, and professional engagement activities, ensuring solutions meet public benefit criteria.
“This collaboration creates the opportunity to overcome long-standing barriers to multi-domain data access and will benefit not just the regional research institutions — it’ll establish a blueprint for faster and more efficient data sharing across the UK,” said Kate O’Sullivan, Associate Director at the Yorkshire and Humber SDE, Head of Secure Data Services at the University of Sheffield and Principal Investigator for PANORAMA. “Through PANORAMA, we will support national efforts to build the infrastructure necessary for enhanced federated data research services “