Staff will remember the Sensitive Research Data Survey carried out by the University at the end of 2010. The compulsory survey was undertaken to satisfy an external audit of the university's holdings of such data in order that it be recorded, classified and assessed.

Very helpfully, staff completed the survey promptly and the University received hundreds of responses from staff who replied positively to holding, generating or reusing sensitive research data in one or more category.

Follow-up

Detailed follow up will be provided using online tools being developed in collaboration with the JISC Managing Research Data programme  and National Digital Curation Centre (DCC). These tools will allow the University to prioritize intervention and inform the provision of secure, managed storage and collaboration environments where needed, as being agreed in a new University IT strategy

Institutions are required to ensure that staff are able to properly manage their research data according to seven common data principles, as recently set out by the Research Councils UK. Individual research funders have begun to set out their own particular requirements based on these agreed principles and summarised by the DCC. Examples include announcements from charitable funders such as the Wellcome Trust as well as the Engineering and Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC). Note that EPSRC have specified that research data should be securely available for a minimum period of 10 years and we expect other research councils will follow. 

New Research Projects using sensitive data

In the meantime, the University is using the Lucre external grant costing system to establish whether new research projects will generate, use or reuse sensitive (including commercial in confidence) research data or otherwise require assistance with the planning and costing of appropriate research IT support. Please contact ithelp@le.ac.uk, x2253 should you require any assistance with existing and non externally funded research IT support.

If you are one of the many staff who replied positively to the survey, or if you apply for a grant that involves the use of sensitive research data, then you will be asked to provide more detail about your use of sensitive research data through one of these means.

Security training and awareness campaign

Coupled with the survey, the University is complying with the auditor’s requirement to run a security training and awareness campaign including training for employees.

Collaborative development of the online information security awareness training with the four other universities is well underway.  Detailed content has been provided to our commercial partner based upon feedback from the universities information security professionals who will be developing the course. The course is to consist of 45 minutes general material and a 15 minute supplement of researcher specific material along with a formative quiz. Development of engaging university specific examples will follow along with Leicester specific content.  

Planned completion of the resource is unchanged at August 2011.

The Information Assurance Coordinators in departments will be introduced to the training at a an event on 9 November where it will be officially launched. Promotional materials such as posters, web pages etc. will accompany the launch.