UKRI ISCF DIH Programme Phase 3– Innovation Gateway, Health Data Research Hubs, and UK Health Data Research Alliance

The Digital Innovation Hub Programme is building a UK-wide system to give researchers safe, responsible access to health data for answering important medical and care questions. This matters because health data—from hospital records, GP visits, genomic tests, and wearable devices—is currently scattered across hundreds of organisations with different rules, formats, and security standards. Researchers cannot easily combine these datasets to spot patterns, test treatments, or predict disease outbreaks. The programme addresses this fragmentation by creating three coordinated functions: an Alliance of data suppliers committed to sharing data; expert Hubs that curate data and provide research services; and a Gateway that enables discovery, linkage, and secure access. If successful, this infrastructure will quietly transform how the UK’s health system learns from its own data. Instead of isolated studies, researchers could ask questions that require linking genomic profiles with hospital outcomes or tracking population-wide health trends in near real-time. The programme also reinforces investment in health data science talent, building the workforce needed to turn raw data into insights. The result is a smoother, faster, and safer pipeline from data to better treatments—without patients having to think about the infrastructure making it possible.