Importing research data into the NHS England Secure Data Environment (SDE)

An introduction to the service offered to researchers to import research data into the NHS England SDE.

This service allows approved researchers to securely import research data into the NHS England Secure Data Environment (SDE) for linkage and analysis with NHS health and social care data.

What we mean by research data

Research data is data collected as part of a study or obtained from other approval sources that you want to bring into the SDE to link to other data.

Research data is record level information about relevant individuals collected, studied or generated as part of a research project. Examples include health records and laboratory data, which may be personal and confidential. Research data files will not contain any personal identifiers other than a study id.

Research data is submitted alongside a participant data (cohort file) which is a list of the individuals (including identifiable information) who are part of the research project.

How this service works

Users prepare and submit the participant data (cohort) file following the detailed guidance. Once the file is ready, the user raises a request uploading the file into the portal.

Users prepare and submit their research data file ensuring that no personal identifiable data is provided

Once both files have been received and validated, we pseudonymise and minimise the data in line with the DSA

After processing is complete, the NHS data set(s) and the approved research data set are then made available in the SDE

Further information

To learn how to get access to the NHS England SDE, visit our process overview which explains how to get started with understanding what data is available and how to start an application.

Access the user guidance page for a full guide on how to import research data into the NHS England SDE.

Last edited: 7 July 2026 8:39 am