Frequently Asked Questions

Applicants will only be considered if they represent organisations with recognised research programmes and a clear commitment to patient benefit. Private individuals are not able to access INSIGHT data.

Appropriate organisations could include:

• The NHS

• Universities

• Research organisations and charities

• Pharmaceutical companies

• Health technology companies

• Start-ups and SMEs

• Other organisations that can demonstrate how their research will improve outcomes for patients and the NHS

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Data held by INSIGHT will not be available to insurance companies, for marketing purposes or for any other commercial activity that is not deemed to be in the interest of patients or the NHS.

In all cases, INSIGHT undertakes a due diligence process to ascertain that each organisation is appropriate for the research it is proposing before the application can progress. The application is then scrutinised by the INSIGHT Data Trust Advisory Board (DataTAB), who consider the ethical aspects, risks and benefits of each proposal, taking into account the views of patients and the public. You can find out more about the DataTAB here.

An appropriate costing model will be developed for each application, taking into account the nature of the research and any potential commercial value that may derive from use of the data.

For more information about costs, please contact us.

All Data Use Applications submitted to INSIGHT are subject to an ethical evaluation of the purpose, value, and benefit of the research by the INSIGHT Data Trust Advisory Board (DataTAB). Under the INSIGHT data governance structure, the DataTAB is an independent-of-Data Controller panel of reviewers who meet to consider and provide an advisory recommendation to the respective Data Controller to accept or refuse an application based on their assessment.

We assess applications to use the data held by INSIGHT using the 'Five Safes':

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• Safe projects: Is this use of the data appropriate?

• Safe people: Can the users be trusted to use it in an appropriate manner?

• Safe settings: Does the access facility limit unauthorised use?

• Safe data: Is there a disclosure risk in the data itself?

• Safe outputs: Are the statistical results non-disclosive?

Consideration of the Five Safes is central to the way INSIGHT works. These principles have been reviewed independently by the Research Ethics Committee on behalf of the NHS.

The INSIGHT DataTAB uses the following criteria to assess applications:

• Is there a clear audit trail of how the data is being used and published?

• Is there a clear clinical outcome, social care or public health outcome?

• Does the proposed application pose a significant risk to individuals’ privacy?

• Will data obtained through INSIGHT be linked to other datasets? If so, has the applicant considered the risks and offered a mitigation process?

• Do we believe that the risk mitigation process(es) are realistic and sufficient?

• Has the applicant taken into account public / patients’ views when designing the project proposal? Has the applicant consulted public/ patients in the formulation of their research question/ project proposal?

• Does the project outcome strike a good balance between public good, scientific discovery, value generation?

• Will the proposed outcome disadvantage any group or individual?

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If you would like more information about how the application process works, please contact us.

To see how the INSIGHT data application works in detail, see our Data Request Process diagram below or download a PDF (400KB).

The Health Data Research Innovation Gateway is a portal set up by Health Data Research UK (HDR UK) to provide a single resource where researchers can discover and request access to hundreds of NHS datasets, including those from INSIGHT.

The HDR UK Gateway contains qualitative and quantitative information about each dataset, including a detailed description, age and size of population, and licensing information.

Users can search catalogues of health datasets, research projects and publications, and collaborate with other researchers via a community forum.

Applications to access the datasets can be made directly through the Gateway, although we recommend you contact us directly first to discuss your research proposal.

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Please note that not all INSIGHT datasets are currently listed on the Gateway. Contact us for more information.

See the INSIGHT datasets on the HDR Innovation Gateway