SAIL Databank Co-Director recognised in data industry influence awards
4 February
Professor David Ford, Co-Director of the Secure Anonymised Information Linkage (SAIL) Databank, funded by Health and Care Research Wales, has been recognised as one of the most influential people in data.
He was named in the 2021 edition of the DataIQ 100, which is the first and only power list of the data industry’s 100 key figures.
David is Professor of Health Informatics and leads Population Data Science at Swansea University Medical School. For the past 25 years he has been developing new ways of improving the way in which data is collected by healthcare and other public services.
Containing billions of person-based records, SAIL Databank is a rich and trusted population data resource. It improves lives by providing researchers with secure, linkable and anonymised data that can be accessed and analysed anywhere in the world.
As well as his work with SAIL, David is also Co-Director of Administrative Data Research Wales (ADR Wales) and the earlier ADRC Wales, a combined £14.3 million investment by the Economic and Social Research Council as part of its big data initiative.
David said: “It’s wonderful to be included in the DataIQ 100 list, particularly after what has been a busy and challenging year. I co-founded what became SAIL Databank in 2006 with my colleague Ronan Lyons to look at ways of making health data available for use in research and policymaking. I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved together and the fantastic team we have built over more than 15 years.”
David Reed, Knowledge and Strategy Director at DataIQ said:
“We had a record-breaking 1,000-plus nominations to review this year. What became clear is that data is now a frontline tool for all types of organisations, especially when dealing with market disruption. Our 2021 list reflects the scale and pace of this change and the individuals who are responding to it.”