New £1m fund to accelerate research access to health and care data in the South West
- 5 December 2025
The South West Secure Data Environment (SDE) is encouraging organisations that hold health and social care data in the South West to share more of their data, to drive ground-breaking research and innovation to improve patient outcomes.
A funding call of £1m is available to help organisations make their data ‘research ready’. The funding will support:
- The technical work needed to allow the dataset to be accessed securely within the South West SDE, for approved research projects
- Making sure ethical and legal safeguards are in place
The primary goal of the Data Accelerator Fund for Novel and Emerging Assets (DAFNEA) call is to accelerate access to unique, multimodal data. This is data that isn’t currently available in regional or national databases, and may include different types of data such as text, images, audio, video, and sensor data. Data could come from electronic patient records, diagnostic imaging, pathology, genomics, or social and community care service provision.
The call is focused on datasets that already exist, rather than for proposed collaborations, data collection or pooling. Feasibility and being able to implement quickly are key criteria. Successful bids will be from organisations that are able to sign a data sharing agreement in Spring 2026.
Join us at a webinar to hear more about the funding programme and ask your questions on Tuesday 16 December, 10-11am. Book your place here.
Bristol GP Dr Charlie Kenward leads the South West SDE in his role as Research Clinical Lead at Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board (BNSSG ICB). He said:
“We know there is a wealth of health and care data held by many organisations in the South West that is extremely valuable for research and innovation. Often this data may not be readily shared because of practical or governance challenges.
“This funding is intended to do the essential work, to allow researchers to access these datasets safely for approved projects using our secure NHS-owned platform.”
Individual awards between £25,000 and £125,000 are available, depending on the data complexity. The funding will also prioritise data assets that align with Health Data Research UK (HDR UK) strategic priorities and tackle health inequalities, with a ring-fenced proportion available for Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise organisations (VCSE).
Amanda, one of the South West SDE’s long serving Digital Critical Friends, said:
“This is not only a great opportunity to accelerate the data available to drive healthcare improvements – but also to bring data from less secure storage into the safer boundaries of the SDE. Like a long-lost child returning to the safe protection of a guardian.”
Eligible applicants include health and care providers, universities and voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations in the South West region. Datasets could focus on acute, mental health, community, primary care, maternity, paediatric, local authority or voluntary sector.
Successful applicants will benefit from expert guidance and support from the South West SDE team. The SDE is a collaboration between the six Integrated Care Systems in the South West region. It is a core part of NHS England’s national strategy to improve health outcomes by enabling secure and responsible access to health and social care data for research purposes.
The fund is coordinated by the South West SDE research hubs at the University of Bristol and the University of Exeter, with support from the NIHR Bristol and Exeter Biomedical Research Centres (BRCs).
Key dates
- 5 December – call opens
- Midday 7 January – expression of interest deadline
- 14 January – invitations to second round
- 28 January – full application deadline
- Early February – funding decisions announced
- Mid February – projects start
- March 2026 – data sharing agreements in place
- December 2026 – metadata available