"Airlock" Output Checking System UI and Workflow Development Partner

UK Biobank (UKB) is a large-scale biomedical database and research resource containing genetic, lifestyle and health information from half a million UK participants. UKB's database is globally accessible to approved researchers who are undertaking health-related research that is in the public interest.

Through carefully managing access, UKB allows approved researchers that have a project to conduct research for the public good and analyse the data held by UKB.

In mid-2024, UKB stopped providing de-identified data downloads to researchers and moved to a data access model in which researchers (with some exceptions) must conduct their analyses on UKB-RAP (i.e. a "Platform-by-default" model).

In moving to a Platform-by-default model, UKB is seeking to further improve its technical controls and intends to implement a functional mechanism to check data egress requests to ensure that participant record-level data is not being removed and does not contain information that can identify individual participants. This "Airlock" or Output Checking System (OCS) functionality will allow UKB to enhance the security of the UKB-RAP, reduce the risk of advertent and inadvertent data breaches and importantly further increases the trust and transparency of the UKB resource.

Output checking processes for Trusted Research Environments (TREs) have to date been based on manual processes, with data analysts or administrators employed to review data egress requests to ensure they meet compliance standards. Given their reliance on human oversight of large data outputs, these systems are costly and do not provide a failsafe, and they cannot scale to the demands of UKB given its very large user base and continued growth. With over 20,000 publications (5,000 in the past year alone), continuing with a manual output checking process is neither desirable nor feasible.

To develop and deliver the OCS, UKB is conducting separate procurements for two elements which will need to be fully interoperable:

1. OCS User Interface (UI) and Workflow (this procurement): The development of a seamless UI and Workflow for the OCS, including secure movement of data and integration with existing UKB infrastructure.
2. The OCS Decision Engine (separate procurement): The development of the core data interrogation component that uses algorithms and other techniques to allow an automated assessment of the data being egressed, giving an overall confidence assessment score and a Red/Amber/Green (RAG) rating for decision-making.

The Development Partner for the OCS User Interface (UI) and Workflow will need to ensure it fully meets the functional, non-functional and operational requirements outlined in the attached specification (Specification) and will work in close collaboration with UKB and the OCS Decision Engine Development Partner to ensure the OCS UI and Workflow is aligned and integrates with the OCS Decision Engine being developed separately. It will also need to be compatible and integrated with the current and future UKB-RAP.

UKB is using the G-Cloud 14 framework to procure its OCS UI and Workflow requirements. UKB is issuing this document to G-Cloud Development Partners under Lot 2 and Lot 3 which have been shortlisted in accordance with the buying process as best fitting UKB's high-level requirements. UKB will be evaluating shortlisted Development Partners based on the information and documents forming part of their published G-Cloud catalogue standard service offering (step 4 of the buying process). However, before proceeding with that evaluation UKB is contacting all shortlisted Development Partners to:

1. Confirm they hold the resource capabilities to deliver to UKB's timescales (see below), if they were to be successful in the shortlist evaluation; and
2. Seek clarification from shortlisted Development Partners in relation to any uncertainty regarding Development Partners' catalogue entries / service offerings to ensure their capability to meet UKB's requirements.