Examples
Worked examples
- Is an instance
An ONS Secure Research Service project requiring Safe-People accreditation, a Safe-Projects approval, work in Safe-Settings, on Safe-Data, with Safe-Outputs disclosure control.
- Is an instance
A NHS England SDE applying the Five Safes to a research-use access decision.
Counter-examples
Looks similar, but isn't
- Not an instance
Encryption-at-rest alone is not the Five Safes u2014 encryption is one technical control within Safe Settings.
- Not an instance
A signed NDA without the other four 'safes' is not the Five Safes framework.
Editorial commentary
Each 'safe' addresses a distinct control: Safe People (are the researchers vetted and trained?), Safe Projects (is the proposed use lawful, ethical, and in the public interest?), Safe Settings (is the analysis taking place in a secure environment?), Safe Data (has the data been appropriately minimised and de-identified?), Safe Outputs (have results been disclosure-controlled before release?). The framework underpins the operation of UK government statistical microdata access (ONS SRS), TREs across the NHS England SDE network, and many international equivalents.
References
- Desai T., Ritchie F., Welpton R., 'Five Safes: designing data access for research' (Bristol Centre for Economics and Finance working paper, 2016).
Also known as
Five Safes · 5 Safes
Machine-readable encodings
Use in your systems
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