Engagement with the data-enabled research community to improve the Data Access Request Service (DARS)

In collaboration with research funders, NHS England is developing and delivering Data Access Request Service (DARS) webinars for researchers. These webinars are designed to support researchers to make more effective applications for data access through DARS.

More information about the webinars is described below. 

In the third of a series of webinars, MRC, NIHR, ESRC and CRUK came together with NHS England to further explore how researchers can request access to the data held by NHS England.

In addition to providing an update on data access from NHS England, the webinar focused on some of the ways NHS England collaborates with researchers to establish new ways of working.

Watch a recording of the 22 April webinar.  

On 27 November 2025 the Medical Research Council (MRC), National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR), Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and Cancer Research UK (CRUK) held a Health Data Access webinar with NHS England. This webinar followed on from the previous webinar on the 9 July. 

Continuing the theme of the 9 July event, the November webinar covered:

Data and data access

• an update on the Data Access Request Service (DARS), including insight on collaboration with the Health Research Authority to make further improvement for researchers
• a focus on data available to request through DARS, signposting to where further information on the data can be viewed

High level information on services to access data including:

• the NHS England Secure Data Environment (SDE)
• NHS DigiTrials
• the NHS England OpenSAFELY GP Data Service: whole country access via federated analytics, shared by Professor Ben Goldacre, Director of the Bennett Institute for Applied Data Science

Watch a recording of the 27 November webinar.  

On 9 July 2025, the Medical Research Council (MRC), National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR), Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and Cancer Research UK (CRUK) held a DARS webinar with NHS England. The webinar shared insights on how researchers can request access to data held by NHS England.

Set in the context of improved NHS England data access request processes, with a wider range of data and data access services available, attendees learned more about the:

• range of data that NHS England holds which is available for researchers to request access to
• range of data access services that NHS England provides
• insight into the NHS England Data Access Request Service (DARS), including: what researchers should expect when making a DARS application, how to prepare applications, and the support and guidance available for applicants

A recording of the webinar is available to view.