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Research data

Our commitment

Data science is already providing cancer insights, but some challenges prevent us from using research data as effectively as we could. We aim to improve how we use research data to answer important questions that lead to better patient outcomes. 

Our priorities

In our research data strategy, we set out how we intend to scale up our current activities to unleash the enormous power of big data. We aim to create a research culture that supports timely, transparent and ethical curation and use of data in cancer research. To achieve this, we're focusing on four priorities: 

  • build and retain public trust and involvement in how and why patient data is used in cancer research

  • fund ambitious and exemplary data science from discovery to translation, with a focus on children and young people

  • connect people doing data-driven research across sectors with FAIR and diverse data, tools, platforms and expertise

  • poise our researchers to be early adopters of emerging data, new technologies and improved practices

Explore our research data strategy

Funding opportunities in data science 

Data for Children's and Young People's Cancer Programme Award

This upcoming award supports AI and data-driven research questions to develop new, scalable and generalisable solutions to common challenges in children’s and young people's cancers. 

Data Catalyst

Our Data Catalyst aims to maximise the impact of cancer datasets that may have commercial value. The catalyst provides funding and support to help researchers make these datasets more accessible and usable by third parties including commercial entities. 

Opportunities across our funding portfolio

We're looking for innovative researchers from all funding areas and welcome proposals involving data science across our funding portfolio. 

Our research data community

We’re building a cancer data science community to support our researchers in tackling common challenges, sharing best practices across sectors and connecting people with FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable) and diverse data, tools, platforms and expertise. 

Patient and public involvement and engagement

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Public-facing guide to research data

Effectively involve people affected by cancer and members of the public in your research by introducing them to concepts of data science in an easy-to-understand way. We’ve worked alongside patients and the public to develop a resource to explain what research data is, its role in cancer research and our involvement and priorities in this area.

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Cancer data patient & public community

The cancer data patient and public community is a group of people who use their lived experiences to shape data-driven research projects and developments about how data is used.

Patient involvement representatives sat in a room in discussion.

use MY data

use MY data is a trusted voice for patients and the public in all discussions and decisions about the use of data for research and improving healthcare.

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Public Engagement in Data Research Initiative

The Public Engagement in Data Research Initiative (PEDRI) is a partnership between UK organisations to shape better data research by promoting transparency, diverse voices and good public engagement practices.

News from our research data network  

Explore the latest articles and blogs for researchers, featuring advice, guidance, network updates and research projects. 

Guidelines and governance

Principles for commercial data partnerships

Private sector organisations are important partners in translating data insights into real-world patient benefits. We’re dedicated to ensuring continued responsible use and secure sharing of health-relevant data across our network.

As part of our commitment to maintaining trust, transparency and accountability, we’ve consulted extensively with the public, patients and our partners to establish a set of guiding principles governing partnerships that involve health-relevant data.

Read our guiding principles

Data Advisory Board

Our Data Advisory Board are international experts in their fields who contribute an invaluable perspective on oncology data science and advise us on the development and delivery of our research data strategy.

Meet the members

Learn more about our work

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