Between April and September 2025, DARE UK ran an open survey of research infrastructures in the domain of sensitive data across the UK. Of the 63 organisations who responded, 48 (76%) identified as Trusted Research Environments (TREs).
This report summarises the responses from TREs regarding their overall capabilities, clarifies their distinct organisational roles, examines funding and sustainability models, and explores approaches to governance, technology and public involvement. It brings together insights from organisations including universities, government agencies, charities and private sector providers to present a picture of how the UK’s sensitive data research
ecosystem is evolving.
This review of the TRE landscape in the UK reveals an evolving ecosystem that is central to the nation’s sensitive data research infrastructure. TREs are expanding in number, scale and complexity, with strong representation from academic and public sector organisations. Most operate under well‑established governance and security frameworks, adopting standards such as ISO 27001, and adoption of the relatively new SATRE specification as a TRE template is notable.
The findings highlight a dynamic TRE landscape marked by both maturity and diversity. Organisations are strengthening their governance, security and technical frameworks while balancing innovation with compliance.
Publication Date: 2026-06-19