Figure 1

The SAIL databank system. This diagram shows the SAIL databank system and the controls in place for data acquisition and utilisation, with an indication of the roles carried out by each party. Beginning at the base of the diagram, HIRU has formal agreements with data providers to provide their data to the databank in accordance with Information Governance. The commonly-recognised identifiers are anonymised at HSW, who provide a trusted third party service to HIRU. Further processes of masking and encryption are carried out at HIRU, and the SAIL databank is constructed. The SAIL databank operates on a DB2 platform (Data Warehouse Edition on AIX) running on an IBM 'P' series Supercomputer: Blue-C. From the top of the diagram, requests to use the data are reviewed by HIRU and an independent Information Governance Review Panel (IGRP) to assess compliance with Information Governance, SOPs and data management policies, and to consider potential disclosure risk, before access can be agreed. Once this is agreed, a data view is created by HIRU technical staff, and access to this view can be made available. For this to happen, further data transformations are carried out to control the risk of disclosure, and the data user signs an access agreement for responsible data utilisation, in accordance with the policies in place and the specifications of the IGRP to comply with Information Governance.