NHS North West Secure Data Environment Data Accelerator Fund for Novel and Emerging Assets (DAFNEA)

The NHS North West Secure Data Environment (SDE) is pleased to announce the launch of a new data-readiness funding scheme: the Data Accelerator Fund for Novel and Emerging Assets (DAFNEA). 

The North West SDE is a collaboration across three Integrated Care Systems:

• Cheshire & Merseyside
• Greater Manchester
• Lancashire & South Cumbria

It is part of NHS England’s strategy to improve health outcomes by enabling secure access to multimodal health and social care data. 

DAFNEA is a £750,000 fund designed to help prepare and link new datasets for research via the North West SDE, in alignment with the national Health Data Research Service (HDRS)  and local research priorities. 

The scheme is designed to support organisations with health and care datasets that are not yet prepared or accessible for research. The funding will be used to help organise, categorise, store, link and govern the use of the data. A key part of the project is working with the North West SDE team to ensure appropriate public, patient and professional engagement has taken place and that the safeguards for appropriate use of the data are set-up.

Purpose of the Fund 

The fund aims to accelerate access to novel, unique, multimodal data for research. By this we mean data: 

• Is not currently or usually available in regional or national research databases 
• Is bespoke, deep (complex data beyond single disease codes or activity counts), or multimodal (e.g. text, images, audio, video, and sensor data) 
• Align with Health Data Research UK (HDR UK) strategic priorities and improve researchers’ abilities to tackle health inequalities  

It will not fund the following activities:

• Assets or services outside the North West SDE footprint
• Collection of new data – datasets must already exist

All funding will be balanced across the North West SDE footprint, provided that applications meet the required quality standard. Applications from VCSE are welcomed.

Expected Outcomes by the End of the Funding Period

Each awardee is expected to deliver:

1. A fully executed Data Sharing Agreement between the data controller organisation and Lancashire Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (LTHFT – host of the North West SDE). This should include:
   a. An agreed ingress request process
   b. A defined review cycle before organisational sign-off
   c. Confirmation of legal signatory support during the application phase
2. Comprehensive and detailed (metadata) documentation for the data asset, including:
   a. Column-level specifications
   b. Detailed description of the data asset
   c. Upload of this metadata to the central catalogue, HDR UK Innovation Gateway

Funding 

Funding can be used for: 

• Secure storage attached to an Azure Data Share.
• Preparation of Data Sharing Agreements (to be completed by March 2026)
• Azure Data Share / RO Crate metadata catalogue development (to be completed by December 2026)
• OMOP (Observational Medical Outcomes Partnership Common Data Model) mapping (where applicable) 

Award amounts will range from £25,000 to £125,000, depending on asset complexity. Successful applicants will be expected to provide regular progress updates. 

The funding call will be coordinated by the North West SDE and an independent steering panel drawn from partners across the region to review applications.

Support

The North West SDE team will provide centralised support across technical, governance, programme and research domains. This includes:

• Governance and contracting support for DSA arrangements
• Technical development of an API to land data from the data controller into the North West SDE

Eligibility Criteria 

Applicants must: 

• Be affiliated with, or be a partner of an NHS integrated care board or a University within the North West  region. 
• Propose data assets not currently part of regional or national datasets. 
• Must offer multimodal, deep, novel, or bespoke data aligned with HDR UK strategic priorities. 

Selection Criteria 

Applications will be reviewed by a panel including representatives from: 

• Leadership and management teams working with the North West SDE
• Members of the public through our Patient Advisory and Accountability Group
• The North West SDE User Group which includes academic institutes and NHS research departments

Applications will be assessed against: 

Feasibility and timeline criteria: 

• Data Sharing Agreements in place by March 2026 
• Metadata available by December 2026 
  
  

Strategic alignment criteria: 

• Fills a gap in the healthcare data ecosystem 
• Aligns with HDR UK strategy
• Detail public benefit and commercial potential

Process and Timelines 

How to Apply 

• Download Form and Apply
• Please submit by 08.00 on Monday 2 March 2026 to:nw.sde@lthtr.nhs.uk.
• Read FAQs page for further information.
• Queries can also be sent to: nw.sde@lthtr.nhs.uk.