Step 2: Apply to become an OpenSAFELY user
⚠️ This is Step 2/3.
Someone from your project team must complete step 1 before you proceed with this step
1. Make sure your project is feasible
2. Apply to become an OpenSAFELY Full User or Collaborator
3. Apply to start a new project in OpenSAFELY
To conduct research using the NHS OpenSAFELY Service, every member of your project team must first apply to become an OpenSAFELY user.
We make a distinction between two kinds of user:
- OpenSAFELY Full Users have the ability to run code, view unreleased outputs, and request their release. Full Users should have some experience using the right software tools, and they must have completed Safe Research Training. The Project Lead of any Project Team must be an OpenSAFELY Full User.
- OpenSAFELY Collaborators can contribute to writing code and reviewing final released results. They do not need to have the same experience and qualifications. OpenSAFELY Collaborators cannot be Project Leads.
To save you some time, new Full Users will only be approved if they:
- are a member of staff (or a Ph.D. student) at an eligible institution in the UK
- have some experience using software tools including Stata, R, Git, Python, SQL and Docker
- have completed Safe Researcher Training, either with the Office for National Statistics, or with the UK Data Service
- have worked through the OpenSAFELY Getting Started tutorial
If you want to see the questions in the form in full before you start your application, you can download a PDF version.
This button will open a page on Jotform in a new tab. Jotform is a third party service. You do not need to have any account to access the form. Data you enter into this form will only be visible to members of the OpenSAFELY team at the Bennett Institute. We will send an acknowledgement within 10 working days.