Welcome to Health Data Research UK – the national institute for health data science.

Health Data Research UK is uniting the UK’s health data to make discoveries that improve people’s lives.
Their vision is that every health and care interaction and research endeavour will be enhanced by access to large scale data and advanced analytics.

Why does this matter?
By making health data available to researchers and innovators they can better understand diseases and discover ways to prevent, treat and cure them.

Challenges to human health and health system sustainability are increasing globally. Heart disease, stroke and cancer still account for nearly two thirds of all deaths globally. These diseases affect everyone deeply – they change the lives of those with the diseases and those who care for them. By making health data available to researchers, they can develop a better understanding of these diseases and ways to prevent, treat and cure them.

Why is the UK the best place to do this?
The UK has some of the richest health data of anywhere in the world. With the NHS it is feasible to collect health data on a large and diverse population, and to make national-scale improvements to health and care. Combined with unique research expertise, outstanding talent in the NHS and universities, and a vibrant life sciences industry, the UK has an unprecedented opportunity to use data at scale to drive innovation, grow the UK industry base and improve the long-term health of the public.

How are they doing it?
They are uniting health data assets across the UK to make health data research and innovation happen at scale. They work with people who share a common set of values:

- They are transparent: they will share information, insights and innovations so that they learn faster together.
- They are optimistic: they believe that they can make things better, that they can do things differently and that they can overcome challenges to create a new and thriving health data ecosystem that benefits patients and the public, the NHS, scientific discovery and industry.
- They are respectful: they deliver better results when they work in a truly interdisciplinary way. They listen, share and respect a diversity of thought and opinion, perspective and experience. They are inclusive – leveraging and fairly attributing the expertise and capabilities of others, including patients, carers and members of the public.
- They act with courage: they are leading the way and will be prepared to try new things, take risks, embrace ambiguity and challenge the status quo. They will contribute opinions to shape the future of health data research.
- They act with humility: they have a lot to learn from others; and aim to be open-minded about the gaps in their knowledge.
- They work diligently to find partners who can help fill those gaps and value and respect their contribution.

Who are they?
They are an independent, non profit organisation supported by 10 funders and bring together 22 research institutes across the UK. They have a head office in central London.