# https://fivesafes.org


## Pages

- [Principles and Attitudes](https://fivesafes.org/principles-and-attitudes/): Principles and Attitudes The Five-Safes provides a framework for planning data access, but it still depends on a human (as a proxy for the organisation) to interpret and consider how the dimensions can be addressed.   We observe organisational stances taking one of two distinct forms:    Default closed: ‘We must not allow access to data unless we can demonstrate it is safe’    Default open: ‘We will allow access to data unless we cannot find a demonstrably safe solution’   The Five-Safes framework can be used in both a ‘default open’ and ‘default closed’ organisation. Positioning of approach can differ at both organisational […]
- [Related concepts](https://fivesafes.org/related-concepts/): Related concepts SATRE from DARE UK SATRE stands for ‘Standardised Architecture for Trusted Research Environments’. The project compared all available UK Trusted Research Environments (TREs) and created a standardised TRE reference architecture.   Functional Anonymisation from UKAnon UKAnon’s functional anonymisation approach ‘does not assume that anonymisation can be zero-risk or irreversible’. They take account of both the data to be shared and the features of the data environment and the risk assessment stage, instead of just at the risk management stage. They have created a framework to aid the anonymisation process.  The SafeGUARDS from UK Health Data Research Alliance The SafeGUARDS uses the […]
- [Case Studies and Metaphors](https://fivesafes.org/case-studies-and-metaphors/): Case Studies and Metaphors Case Study 1 Medical research using hospital records in a secure lab Scenario: A team of epidemiologists wants to study the link between diabetes and heart disease using hospital patient records; the data needs to be very detailed, longitudinally linked over time  Safe Projects  Approval: The researchers submit a proposal to an ethics committee, proving their study is for public health benefits  Outcome: Approved, because the research could lead to better treatment outcomes  Safe People  Training: Researchers complete training on how to use the facility  Safe Data:  Minimal de-identification: Patients names and addresses are removed but nothing […]
- [Using the Five Safes](https://fivesafes.org/using-the-five-safes/): Using the Five Safes The ‘five safes’ can be misleading. It is not that a data access solution must be ‘safe’ on every control factor. It is that the combination of controls makes for overall ‘safe use’; and this is achieved efficiently by considering the safes separately and jointly.  Because there is a very large amount of evidence on how to make all of these decisions effectively, you can consider each ‘safe’ separately. For example, when designing a safe setting can make assumptions about the training or incentives of researchers confident your assumptions can be met. Similarly, when designing a […]
- [Data Governance](https://fivesafes.org/data-governance/): Data Governance Research often requires the use of personally identifiable information (PII) which has strict ethical and legal guidelines on how it can be collected, analysed and used. For some data, such as health information, this is particularly problematic as they are ‘protected characteristics’ under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This means that additional measures should be taken to ensure use is fair, appropriate and necessary. Good data governance is therefore essential to the successful completion of the project.  This should not be a barrier to research. Although there are potentially many factors to consider, the basic principles and […]
- [Safe Outputs](https://fivesafes.org/the-five-safes/safe-outputs/): Safe Outputs Safe outputs discuss the rules that make an output unsafe, and the basics of how to protect outputs while maintaining usefulness.  We have designed a website designated to output checking including the rules that can make an output unsafe and how to protect outputs while maintaining usefulness: outputchecking.org Examples of questions/issues being addressed:  If the aim of access is to produce statistics, is there any residual risk by, for example, showing outliers?  If the aim of the access is to produce data for onward transmission, how do we make sure that the released data are appropriate for the next […]
- [Safe Settings](https://fivesafes.org/the-five-safes/safe-settings/): Safe Settings Safe settings look at understanding the importance of secure environments when accessing data, and ways to protect your setting.   Examples of questions/issues being addressed:  How is the data stored?  Are there physical restrictions on the users?  Does IT prevent unauthorised use?  Are mistakes by authorised users likely to be detected?  There are many data management options. This Briefing Note explain different options, using a concept called the Data Access Spectrum. Since the start of the 21st century, much of the interest has been in Trusted Research Environments (TREs). They are secure digital platforms that provide controlled access to sensitive or […]
- [Safe Data](https://fivesafes.org/the-five-safes/safe-data/): Safe Data Safe data looks at identifying and managing data sensitivity and detail, and how data should be handled.  Examples of questions/issues being addressed:  Is there sufficient detail to allow the project to go ahead?  Is there excessive data that is not necessary for the project?  Input statistical disclosure control (SDC; sometimes called de-identification or anonymisation) is crucial in maintaining safe data. It is a set of methods used to protect confidential data, ensuring that organisations and individuals cannot be identified from aggregated or released data. The aim is to balance data utility with privacy protection.   This is branch of […]
- [Safe Projects](https://fivesafes.org/the-five-safes/safe-projects/): Safe Projects ‘Safe projects’ assesses the research goals and the potential benefits to understand the risks associated with each project undertaken. It asks the question ‘is this appropriate use and management of the data?’.  Examples of questions/issues being addressed:  What is the purpose of the access request?  Is this an ethical and lawful use of the data?  What is the benefit to society or to the organisations that are sharing the data?  Is there a data management plan in place?  What happens to the data at the end of the project?  Part of the concerns to be addressed is whether […]
- [The Five Safes](https://fivesafes.org/the-five-safes/): The Five Safes The Five Safes framework is a set of principles enabling data services to provide safe research access to data. It has become the best practice in data protection whilst also fulfilling the demands of open science and transparency.  It is a framework for helping people, especially those that have responsibility for data access systems, to make decisions concerning the most effective and secure use of data that is potentially confidential or sensitive.  The Five Safes break down the decisions surrounding data access and use into five related, but separate, dimensions:  Safe projects – is this use of data […]
- [Safe People](https://fivesafes.org/the-five-safes/safe-people/): Safe People What is a Safe Person? ‘Safe people’ asks the question ‘how much can I trust the users to use the data appropriately?’ This is not about good and bad people. ‘Trust’ in this case is ‘how much do I trust this person to be human ie make silly mistakes, or look for ways to get round onerous operating procedures’. Those humans could be data collectors, data managers, researchers. We should consider how training staff or users could impact this, and how to make that training effective.  Examples of questions/issues being addressed:  How is the data stored?  Are there […]


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