The Wessex Secure Data Environment (SDE) has published its Communications and Community Involvement & Engagement (CIE) Strategy and Digital Critical Friends Work Programme for 2026/27. Together, they set out how communications, patient and public involvement, and community engagement will support delivery of the SDE’s mission to enable impactful research that improves NHS health and care services and returns value to the NHS, while helping maintain the public trust on which that work depends.
The strategy places patients, public contributors and communities at the heart of the SDE’s work over the coming year. Alongside improving transparency and patient information, it sets out a programme of activity to strengthen public involvement in emerging areas such as AI-enabled research, multi-SDE research, public benefit reporting and the development of new research partnerships. The accompanying Digital Critical Friends Work Programme describes how members will contribute through their involvement in the SDE’s governance as well as through co-design activity, ensuring that public perspectives continue to shape how the SDE develops – and sustains its social licence.
Both documents have been developed with the Wessex SDE’s Digital Critical Friends and reflect several years of public dialogue and involvement. They also support the SDE’s wider objectives to build a leading regional research data and AI capability, provide an excellent service for researchers and operate as a trusted, well-governed and financially sustainable Secure Data Environment. As the SDE continues to evolve, communications and community involvement will play a central role in ensuring that research remains transparent, publicly accountable and focused on delivering benefits for patients, communities and the NHS.