New funding to improve health and care research for patients and communities across the North West
Funding has been awarded to organisations across the North West to help make more health and care data safely available for research that could improve services, treatments and outcomes for patients.
The North West Secure Data Environment (North West SDE) has announced the successful recipients of its Data Accelerator Fund for Novel and Emerging Assets (DAFNEA), a £750,000 scheme launched in February 2026 to support better use of health and care data for public benefit.
DAFNEA will help organisations prepare and connect de-identified health and care datasets so approved researchers can use them securely to answer important questions about prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care. The scheme supports the national Health Data Research Service and local research priorities, with a clear focus on improving health and care for people living in the North West.
By making more high-quality, de-identified data available in a secure and controlled way, the fund aims to help researchers better understand health needs, reduce inequalities and support improvements in patient care. This includes bringing together novel, unique and multimodal data that may offer new insights into people’s experiences and outcomes.
Following strong interest in the scheme and a thorough evaluation process, DAFNEA funding has been awarded to seven successful applicants across the region. Awards range from £36,000 to £132,000, depending on the complexity of the data asset and the work needed to make it research-ready.
Six of the successful projects are led by NHS trusts and five involve research teams at the University of Liverpool (UOL). The organisations receiving funding are:
- Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust in partnership with Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and UOL
- Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation Trust in partnership with UOL
- Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust in partnership with UOL
- NHS University Hospitals of Liverpool Group in partnership with UOL
- University of Liverpool Data-HEART project
- Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust
- One Lancashire and South Cumbria in partnership with Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
Projects will use data to help drive improvements in services and treatments
Zharain Bawa, Operations Lead for the North West SDE, said: “These projects have the potential to make a real difference for patients and communities by supporting research that is grounded in the needs and experiences of local people.
“The successful bids cover a wide range of data assets, including hospital care, primary care in Lancashire and South Cumbria, mental health and community care, cancer, environmental and geographical data, and specialist neuroscience data. This breadth is important because people’s health is shaped by many different factors, and research needs to reflect that complexity.
“Projects were selected for their clear public benefit, strong governance and safeguards, realistic delivery plans and contribution to the Secure Data Environment. The programme team will work closely with each project to ensure that privacy, safety, transparency and public value remain central throughout. The benefits for patients and the wider population are the key drivers for this work.”
Successful applicants will provide regular progress updates, and the North West SDE team will offer centralised support across technical, governance, programme and research areas. The new datasets are expected to start becoming available from late 2026 or early 2027, helping to build a richer evidence base for research that can inform better health and care decisions.
For more information about the North West SDE and its work to support safe, secure and transparent health data research, please visit the North West SDE website.