CREATE TRE Onboarding Process for Trusted Research Environment (TRE)

Welcome to the onboarding process for our Trusted Research Environment. This guide will walk you through the steps to get your sensitive data assets securely integrated into our TRE for your project.

Important Notice: Expected Wait Times

Project timelines may vary considerably due to high demand and the complex nature of the projects we manage. We will take into consideration the time constraints and other requirements of your specific project to coordinate agreeable and realistic timelines. Thank you for your patience and understanding as we work to deliver our highest standard of service, security, and governance.

Step 1: Complete Data Risk Model Form

To determine whether your project requires a Trusted Research Environment (TRE), please start by completing the e-Research Data Risk Assessment form. This form helps to assess the sensitivity of your dataset and the security needs of your project.

• Once the form is completed, an indication of the data classification (and how likely the project will require a TRE) is visible on the page.
• Prior to submission the form can be used to investgate the thresholds that have been identified as contributing to data classifications.
• If you would like to retain a record of the form, even if a TRE is not required, please submit the form.
• Submitting the form will automatically generate a support ticket with the form attached.
• Even if the Data Risk Assessment indicates the data being stored does not need the controls provided by a TRE it is still possible to request one by submitting the form and moving on to Step 2.

Step 2: Project-Specific Onboarding Form

If the Data Risk Model indicates a TRE is required or, due to possible future requirements is deemed desirable, the process can be initiated by completing the TRE Onboarding Form, where you’ll provide more detailed information about the project. This helps us tailor the TRE setup to the specific requirements and schedule a follow-up meeting.

• When completing this form, please include the support ticket number generated from Step 1.
• Once both the Data Risk Model and Onboarding Form are attached to the ticket, our team will contact you to arrange an initial meeting to discuss your project in more detail.

Step 3: Review Costing Model

• Please review our costing model for the TRE services. The details can be found here: Costing Model

Step 4: Training and Documentation

Complete the necessary trainings and provide the requested documents:

• All users training
• Data movers (egress/ingress) users training

Step 5: TRE Deployment

At this stage, we will deploy the TRE environment for your project and provide you with the access details.

Step 6: Dataset Transfer

After the deployment is completed, we will arrange for the dataset transfer to your TRE project using an agreed method (SFTP, nhs.net, etc.).

Step 7: Completion and Access

At this stage, your project is marked as live. You can now enjoy working on your research project in a highly safe environment.

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For any further assistance or queries regarding the onboarding process, feel free to contact us at support@er.kcl.ac.uk.

graph TD
    A[Step 1: Complete Data Risk Model Form] -->|Generates support ticket| B[Ticket Created]
    B --> C{Is TRE Required?}
    C -- No --> D[You will be notified - TRE not required]
    C -- Yes --> E[Step 2: Complete TRE Onboarding Form]
    E --> F[Include ticket number in form]
    F --> G[Both forms received on ticket]
    G --> H[We contact you to arrange initial meeting]
    H --> I[Step 3: Review Costing Model]
    I --> J[Step 4: Training and Documentation]
    J --> K[Step 5: TRE Deployment]
    K --> L[Step 6: Dataset Transfer]
    L --> M[Step 7: Completion and Access]
    M --> N{End: Start Your Research!}

Document owner	ResOps
Review signoff	TRE/IG/ResOps Lead
Review frequency	Annual
Last review date	6/5/25
Reviewed build	532615cc