A Toolbox for Research – Population Data BC’s tools for overcoming challenges in the data access process

IntroductionNavigating the regulatory environment of data access is complex. Where there are common challenges, there are opportunities to develop systems and services that can help researchers. These tools are designed to ensure secure and smooth navigation of the process of data access and data analysis.
 Objectives and ApproachThere is increasing focus on technical solutions to support data requests and analysis. We have responded to existing challenges by developing a suite of tools and services including: MetaData Central, DARonline, AppTracker, Snippets, and REDCap. We will describe the obstacles that motivated each tool, how it was built, and how it addresses the original issue. We will also discuss the overall challenges in building these tools, including technical complexity and getting buy-in from data stewards and researchers. Finally, we will touch on some of the progress we have seen based on these tools, and our plans for future development.
 ResultsMajor obstacles included providing information to researchers to help form their data request, communications among researchers, data stewards and PopData, general automation of procedures, and sharing among rese