Semi-Automated Checking of Research Outputs

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Trusted Research Environments (TREs) play a vital role in enabling researchers to analyse confidential data such as health records then report findings. The Five-SafesFramework is used to ensure data confidentiality and includes Safe Outputs. Outputs are typically checked by two expert staff before release, which is a significant expense for TREoperators, and can cause a bottleneck for researchers.Meanwhile, the parallel development of TREs and understanding of disclosure-risk, hascreated a need to consolidate theory and practice to minimise inconsistent behaviourbetween TREs. Addressing both these issues, this project seeks to reduce the operating costs of TREs, and the time taken to release research results. It will:•Produce a consolidated framework with a rigorous statistical basis that providesguidance for TREs to agree consistent, standard processes to assist in QualityAssurance.•Design and implement a semi-automated system for checks on common research outputs, with increasing levels of support for other types such as AI.•Work with a range of different types of TRE in different sectors (health, social data)and organisations (academia, government, private sector) to ensure wide applicability.•Work with public and patients to explore what is needed for public trust that anyautomation is acting as “an extra pair of eyes”: supporting not supplanting TRE staff,helping them to make easy decisions more rapidly and therefore focus on more complex or nuanced cases.