Trusted Research Environments

Establishing a framework and common understanding for trusted research environments (TREs) in Australia
Computer monitors outside an imaging room showing brain scans
Who will benefit
Health researchers requiring access to secure and trusted computing environments

The Challenge

The increasing requirement to provide secure, compliant spaces where researchers can work on health data independently or using federated machine learning models presents several challenges. These challenges include ensuring data privacy and security, managing data quality, and facilitating efficient data access and integration across multiple secure environments.

The Approach

The ARDC is uniquely positioned to coordinate and deliver national infrastructure capabilities that support trusted research environments (TREs) in health research through the People Research Data Commons (People RDC).

We’ve established a National Trusted Research Environment Framework in response to calls for a national conversation around a TRE’s core features, a reference architecture, and principles to underpin consistency and interoperability.

The ARDC is harnessing expertise from a number of previous TRE projects such as SeRP, ERICA and CADRE.

Framework project

Having captured, key providers’ and researchers’ perspectives, this project has delivered a comprehensive but practical framework to define a common understanding of TREs in Australia.

Demonstrators

As a companion to the Framework Project, this initiative will establish demonstrator trusted research environments (TREs). These demonstrator TREs will serve as a testbed to explore the feasibility and viability of federating TREs, enabling collaborative research across multiple environments while maintaining data security and governance.

Collaboration

During the Framework Development Phase, we collaborated with selected national groups and conduct extensive consultations to gather input and feedback.

We will collaborate with co-investment partners, service providers, human research ethics committees (HRECs), data custodians, and government entities.

Target Outcomes

This activity has delivered a National Trusted Research Environment (TRE) Framework, which provides a common blueprint and offer best-practice guidelines beneficial to many universities and research institutions seeking accreditation under the Office of the National Data Commissioner (ONDC) Data Scheme.

Aligned with the Framework, we’re establishing networks of secure access services that will:

  • provide TRE coverage for secondary use of data in strategic academic research areas, such as clinical trials and cohorts
  • be consistent, appropriate, interoperable and comprehensive across government, NCRIS, and the broader research sector for the data researchers need.

We’re also looking to establish a community of practice to support data custodians and the users and providers of TREs.