The EOSC-ENTRUST project has published updated requirements for Trusted Research Environments (TREs) and TRE federations, which will inform the final EOSC-ENTRUST Blueprint and Interoperability Framework.
EOSC-ENTRUST is building a European network of TREs and developing a common Blueprint for federated data access and analysis. The project’s four Drivers cover federated human genomics, transnational sharing of social science data, reuse of clinical trial data and public-private collaboration involving sensitive data. The Drivers identified what researchers and TRE providers need in practice and used these requirements to validate the Blueprint and recommend adaptations.
The requirements were assessed using the EOSC-ENTRUST Requirements Management Framework (RMF), which provided a structured approach for refining, categorising and assessing the verifiability of requirements. The consolidated requirements highlight both common needs across research domains and domain-specific requirements for federated analysis and sharing of sensitive data.
The report identified three recommendations to inform the final Blueprint:
- Support approaches for securely linking and pseudonymising data across different sources where national legislation prevents the use of centralised data-linking mechanisms
- Define a minimum security level and related processes for TRE federations handling sensitive data
- Include a registry of supported data standards within federation services
The Drivers have also developed a Drivers User journey, providing a user-centric view of how the Blueprint could work in practice. It maps the steps involved in accessing, analysing and publishing results from sensitive data across a federated network of TREs. The User journey shows the role played by data holders, data users, TRE governance and federation governance in each step of the journey from data discovery to the output of results.
The revised requirements and recommendations from the Drivers will feed into the final EOSC-ENTRUST Blueprint. Together with the Drivers User Journey, the requirements are also intended to provide a reusable resource for TRE providers and research communities, supporting implementation of the Blueprint and assessing federation readiness of TREs.
Find out more
- Discover the Revised Driver Requirements for TREs from the four Drivers
- See the Drivers User journey
Posted: 24 September 2026
