Queen’s Anniversary Prize 2023

Celebrating Excellence in Population Data Science: A Queen’s Anniversary Prize

We are proud to have been awarded the prestigious Queen’s Anniversary Prize (QAP) for pioneering efforts in harnessing public data to improve population health and well-being and in recognition of its world-renowned SAIL (Secure Anonymised Information Linkage) Databank.

This recognition highlights our dedication to leveraging data science to drive impactful research, inform policy decisions, and ultimately enhance the health and well-being of communities nationwide and globally.

The Queen’s Anniversary Prizes for Higher and Further Education celebrate outstanding work by UK colleges and universities in transforming lives and communities. These prizes are a mark of distinction and acknowledge the significant contributions institutions make to society. The prizes cover a range of disciplines, from arts and humanities to science and technology, emphasising the importance of education and research in addressing societal challenges.

Sitting within the Population Data Science at Swansea University, SAIL Databank – brings together, links and analyses data from multiple sources to deliver population-level insights for government and policymakers. Utilising the extensive data available in the SAIL Databank, healthcare professionals and data scientists can conduct robust research on the Welsh and UK populations.

SAIL Databank began as a pilot study in 2007 with approval from Health and Care Research Wales operating in partnership with Digital Health and Care Wales and a small number of data providers. In the 15 years since SAIL was founded, its achievements include:

• Providing wide-ranging Covid-19 research and fast-response, data-driven policy intelligence for the Welsh and UK governments.
• Performing as the national data linkage and access system for all public data in Wales, securely curating data from every sector and more than 500 organisations.
• Providing data linkage and banking services for many global initiatives, including shared data from over 30 countries in support of the International Covid-19 Data Alliance initiative9; and,
• Enhancing the evidence base for policymakers, helping them to understand the relationships between their service provisions to improve people’s lives.

We extend our heartfelt thanks to our funders, partners, collaborating institutions, health boards, general practitioners (GPs), SAIL Databank users, patient and public involvement (PPI) contributors, our Centres of Excellence, and our dedicated staff, who played a crucial role in achieving this remarkable Award. There are too many organisations and people to list here, but please click to view our full acknowledgements list.