About us
The South West Secure Data Environment (SDE) enables research that’s faster, fairer and safer.
Going live in 2026, the South West SDE is an innovative and efficient approach to conducting research with millions of people’s health and care records, while maximising privacy and security.
It’s a secure platform for research and data analysis, which has been developed to the highest security standards. It enables trusted researchers to safely access data, including routinely collected data from the NHS and local government, for approved projects.
Health and care records, when brought together at a regional level, can provide vital information for new research. However, there is a potential conflict between the need for research that benefits the public and the necessity of protecting privacy. Achieving this balance is not easy.
The South West SDE means we can all benefit from research using people’s health and care records while providing strong safeguards that protect data security and privacy. It has the potential to revolutionise health research in the South West of England.
It has been developed by a consortium of partners across the region, including NHS bodies, local authorities, universities and research groups. Our SDE enables groundbreaking projects, improving the lives of the people in our region and further afield.
Our region
Around 5 million people live in our region, which covers:
- Bristol
- Cornwall
- Devon
- Gloucestershire
- Isles of Scilly
- Somerset
- Wiltshire
We have many research strengths in our region, from health systems research to long-term studies of large groups of people such as Children of the 90s and Exeter 10,000. Our datasets have the potential to support improved health for rural and coastal communities.
Our governance
The NHS has funded regions in England to set up their own SDEs, as part of a national network.
The NHS and the Health Research Authority (HRA) have given their official support to the South West SDE, following assessment by HRA’s Confidentiality Advisory Group.
We have a leadership board made up of representatives from across our partners. They oversee the operation of the South West SDE, making sure it’s developed to meet the needs of our region.
We have public representatives, known as Digital Critical Friends, on our leadership board. They help keep the public’s perspective at the heart of our decision-making.
The data controllers in our partnership are represented on our Data Access Committee. This oversees all research projects.
Southern SDE Partnership
We are part of the Southern SDE Partnership, uniting three leading NHS Secure Data Environments across the South of England:
- South West SDE
- Wessex SDE
- Kent, Medway and Sussex SDE
The partners are working together to make NHS data access simpler, faster, and more consistent. By streamlining the process for researchers and upholding robust governance, transparency, and public trust, we’re helping unlock the power of health data for everyone.
Meet the team
The team behind our SDE is drawn from across our region and partner organisations.
Our partners
The South West SDE is a collaboration of 17 organisations from across the region.
It includes 6 Integrated Care Boards, 13 local councils represented by South West Councils, 2 National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centres (BRCs), 2 NIHR Applied Research Collaborations (ARCs) and 2 Health Innovation Networks.
