Federated Research
Connect research,
not just data
Research data is increasingly distributed across multiple Trusted Research Environments (TREs), organisations, and jurisdictions. SeRP Federation enables researchers to analyse data across these environments while respecting each organisation’s governance, security, and data ownership requirements.
Whether data remains within its host environment or is brought together under shared governance, SeRP provides flexible federation approaches to support collaborative research at scale.
Why Federation?
Modern research rarely relies on a single dataset.
Healthcare providers, universities, government organisations, and research institutes each hold valuable data, but governance requirements often prevent those datasets from being moved or combined.
Federation allows organisations to collaborate while maintaining control over their own data.
Whether data remains within its host environment or is brought together under shared governance, SeRP provides flexible federation approaches to support collaborative research at scale.
Two approaches to federation
Rather than offering a single model, SeRP supports two complementary approaches depending on the needs of your project.
5 Safes TES
Analyse data where it lives
Ideal when data cannot leave its host organisation.
Researchers submit an approved analysis, which is securely executed within each participating TRE. Only the agreed outputs are returned, meaning sensitive individual-level data never leaves its original environment.
Best suited for:
- Highly sensitive datasets
- Cross-organisation analysis
- Data that cannot be moved
- Standardised analytical workflows
Key benefit:
The analysis travels to the data—not the other way around.
No data moves.
TELEPORT
A shared research environment across multiple TREs
Some research projects require approved researchers to work directly with data from multiple organisations.
TELEPORT creates a secure, temporary research environment governed jointly by participating TREs. Researchers access a single workspace while each organisation retains oversight of how its data is used.
Best suited for:
- Collaborative research programmes
- Multi-organisation studies
- Projects requiring interactive analysis
- Shared governance arrangements
Key benefit:
A secure shared workspace governed by every participating organisation.
Researchers work in one environment under joint governance.
Which approach is right?
5 Safes TES | TELEPORT |
Analysis is sent to each TRE | Researchers work in one shared environment |
Data remains in place | Data is made available within a jointly governed workspace |
Standardised analyses | Interactive exploration and analysis |
Minimal exposure of data | Greater research flexibility |
Why SeRP Federation?
- Enable research across multiple TREs
- Respect existing governance arrangements
- Support secure collaboration
- Reduce unnecessary data movement
- Flexible federation models for different research needs
Planning a federated research project?
Talk to our team about the best federation approach for your organisation.