Federated Data Science (FEDS) UK is a national consortium of leaders advancing the next generation of federated analytics solutions to revolutionise how health data is accessed and analysed across the UK.

Federated Data Science (FEDS) UK is a national consortium of leaders advancing the next generation of federated analytics solutions to revolutionise how health data is accessed and analysed across the UK. Building on the foundations of the DARE UK initiative (2023) and in partnership with Health Data Research UK (HDR UK) and key data partners, FEDS UK will unify and extend pioneering technologies to create a federated architecture for secure, efficient, and scalable analytical delivery across the UK’s health data ecosystem.

Objectives

This initiative aims to break down the long-standing silos in UK data infrastructure by enabling analytics to be deployed across interconnected Trusted Research Environments (TREs) and Secure Data Environments (SDEs). The result will be a system that enhances the findability, accessibility, interoperability, and reusability (FAIR) of health data, empowering researchers and institutions to collaborate more effectively while maintaining data security and governance standards.

FEDS UK will operate in alignment with major national and international initiatives, including:

  • GA4GH – adopting global interoperability standards for TREs and SDEs.
  • ELIXIR – connecting UK infrastructure to the European Open Science Cloud.
  • HDR UK – linking into national federated analytics and research programmes.
  • ADR Wales – enabling cross-domain research that integrates traditional and non-traditional health data.
  • ADDI – supporting dementia research through international federated collaboration.
  • BioFAIR – embedding FAIR data principles across biological research.
  • NHS SDE Programme – aligning with NHS data modernisation and access frameworks.